


True Suffering

by kellym01



Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Child Abuse, Depression, F/F, F/M, Powerful!Ranma, Prostitution, Rape, attempted suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-04
Packaged: 2018-03-26 19:47:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3862474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kellym01/pseuds/kellym01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A redo of my True Suffering fic there was too many problems with it so I'm starting from scratch, Ranma is broken by her past the Tendos are curious to what could be so aweful read to find out what it is the original is still up for others to read and those who read the original I ask you do not reveal the plot that has been revealed in your reviews I don't own Ranma chance of RxH</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Slightly alterations made, the poll results are in so I'm gonna go over each chapter and attempt to fix the errors that I've been made aware of.

A red haired girl walked silently beside a large panda through Nerima, thoroughly soaked by the rain, her gaze cast down upon the ground, memories of the training journey flashing before her mind's eye, memories of great joy but far greater sorrow, memories of what she had been robbed of, of what her father took from her.

The panda made a turn and went through a wooden gate, the girl followed almost mindlessly, she was broken and she wouldn't deny it, her father had broken her on the training journey but deep within her lay hidden a strong power, rage that knew no bounds and if released nothing would stop her, the ultimate technique that relied purely on her emotions.

The panda came to a stop in front of a wooden door, lightly knocking upon it, hurried footsteps could be heard on the other side, the door opened to reveal a tall aged man with long black hair wearing a brown GI, beside him a young girl with a bowl haircut wearing a fancy kimono and behind them both stood a tall, young, woman with long brown hair wearing a sundress.

Their expressions were alarm at first but that decreased once they noticed the redhead stood beside Genma, her gaze only glancing at them for a moment before returning to the ground.

A Couple Minutes Ago…

"Daddy dearest how can you expect us to marry a boy we just met?" Nabiki droned.

"Nabiki the promise was made before any of you were born, excluding Ranma himself, truthfully though I forgot about the promise myself but it would mean a lot to me if you at least gave him a chance…I'm not forcing you to marry him or anything today, I just would like you to give him a chance and I'll talk to his father though it would be nice if one of you did marry him and unite the schools" Soun explained.

"Father how old is Ranma?" Kasumi asked, Soun took on a thoughtful look, doing the math in his head.

"Well, let's see…carry the two, divide by three, multiply by the five…he should be around…twenty nine" Soun admitted, Kasumi tried to conceal her small smile at hearing this.

'At least he's older than me…ten years older though' Kasumi thought to herself, wondering if it was taking it a little far on the age difference.

"TWENTY NINE?!" Akane screamed in disbelief.

"Yes, according to the post card he has just returned from a twenty six year training journey in which time he's travelled over most of the world and if memory serves their first destination after Japan was China" Soun replied.

'Sounds like he's loaded' Nabiki thought with a smirk, Akane was about to object further only to be stopped by a knock on the door, instantly everyone excluding herself ran to answer the door.

Soun nearly fainted once he opened the door and was greeted by the sight of a large panda, though when he saw the tall figure beside the panda he began to calm down, the visitor glanced at them before turning away once again.

"Are you Ranma?" Soun asked, the 'boy' only nodded, Soun pounced on him, embracing him in a strong hug, Ranma nearly fell back but quickly altered 'his' form and remained standing, it was then Soun felt two rather large orbs press against him, he pulled back and finally gave the boy a good look.

The supposed boy was rather tall, only a little shorter than himself, had scarlet hair, a single scar going through his right eye, he was quite muscular but what caught Soun's attention were two rather large orbs of flesh on his front, Nabiki noticed them too, she approached them and lightly squeezed the redhead's breasts.

'Are these natural?' Nabiki pondered as she made her statement "Ranma's not a boy he's a girl" she stated.

"A…girl?" Soun stuttered before falling to the ground unconscious, getting soaked by the rain, Nabiki let out a sigh before she, Kasumi gripped his upper body and Ranma and the panda gripped his legs and carried him inside and placed the older man on the table.

Akane stared at the newcomers, raising an eyebrow at the panda before turning to who she suspected to be a boy only to let her mouth drop when she saw the woman before her with a near perfect figure though she had to admit she looked rather thin and a tad worse for wear.

"I'm…Akane Tendo" Akane greeted, thrusting her hand forward, towards the elder redhead, the woman glanced at the hand before taking it in her grip and lightly shaking it.

"Ranma Saotome" Ranma greeted, all the household occupants excluding Ranma, the panda and the unconscious Soun shivered when they heard her tone, so empty, broken, void of emotion, it chilled them to the very core.

"So…err…you practise the Anything Goes style?" Akane asked, this time the woman merely nodded.

"How about we have a small spar…you know for fun?" Akane offered, beginning to feel the burning desire to prove herself as the best, the girl shrugged, which Akane took as a yes and so led the redhead to the dojo, her sisters followed after her, wanting to see what this woman could do, Nabiki was intrigued by the redhead and wanted to see if she could help bring some money into the house and Kasumi was also intrigued by her, though for different reasons, she was curious about her, the person within.

Kasumi knew that tone the woman had spoken with, the empty tone, it took everything she had to not use that tone herself, she hated to even imagine what the woman had been through to make her so hollow.

Once in the dojo Akane and Ranma stood opposite each other, Akane assumed her usual aggressive stance, Ranma just stood in relaxed stance, confusing Akane.

"You ready?" Akane asked, Ranma merely nodded, Akane charged, throwing a punch for the older woman's head, holding back so as not to harm her, not even considering the fact that Ranma could be superior in skill to her, Ranma leaned back, avoiding the strike with ease, Akane then tried around house kick, Ranma merely flowed into another motion, avoiding the strike.

Akane then tried an uppercut with all the speed she could muster only to have Ranma lean back and avoid it, Akane continued her strikes until she'd backed Ranma into a corner of the dojo, smirking, thinking she had this won, she thrust out a punch with all the speed and strength she could muster, more than annoyed by all the dodging and that she hadn't managed to even graze her opponent and so in her frustration forgot to hold back.

Ranma merely bent her legs and jumped into the air, curling into a ball and doing a roll like motion above and over Akane, her fist went straight through the wall, surprising Akane, she merely retracted her fist and turned to see Ranma stood behind her, hands behind her back, waiting for the next strike.

"Wow you're good" Akane praised.

"Of course she is Akane, she's been training in the art for over two decades now, she's not going to be like the horde at school" Nabiki stated, Akane blushed and averted her gaze, unable to believe that she even considered holding back against someone with more than twice as much experience in the art and had spent her whole life training.

Ranma then began to shrink, having exhausted herself she could no longer hold her true form, she had managed to hold it since she woke up that morning but now she couldn't, they all stared at her as the tall redheaded woman shrank down to almost half Akane's height.

"What the?" Nabiki gasped.

"It's a side effect of one of my techniques" Ranma stated, her tone still void of emotion, she turned and headed out of the dojo.

"Ranma if you want to take a bath it's the next door on your right" Kasumi said, trying to get over her shock, the redhead merely nodded, not stopping or turning to face them and headed straight to get washed.

The Bathroom…

Once she entered she placed the occupied sign up and removed her now giant sized clothing, it was a major pain in the ass when she reverted to the size of a seven year old, but now it didn't bother her as much other than the fact it made it harder to die of old age, she glanced at the bands on her wrists, an enchanted gift that altered sizes with her, she removed them both, revealing the pale cream skin beneath them, decorated in scars, however, unlike the scars that though faded, covered her torso, legs and some of her arms, these scars were not the result of the cat first.

Ranma begin to fill the tub, washing herself down before stepping into the warm water, enjoying the feeling of the hot water rising, the whole time he merely looked at his wrists, tracing the scars with his fingertips, remembering when and how he got each and every one, remembering how the small blade felt as it slice open his delicate skin male or female didn't matter, a body was a body and skin was skin, it all cut the same, he remembered the scarlet liquid slowly flowing out, the feeling of the warm liquid leaving his body, allowing him to forget the true pain for a moment thanks to the small stinging of the cut.

He turned the tap off when the water reached the right height and began to lean back, letting the water wash over him, going all the way up to his neck, his body hidden beneath the surface, ever so slowly he let his head fall, eyes slowly closing, the warm water washed over his face, he let his head touch the bottom of the bath, he was now entirely underwater where no oxygen could reach him.

'Too bad I'm not using the only body that ever brought me happiness' he thought to himself, feeling the pain in his lungs begin to grow, he knew what would happen his lungs would feel like they were about to explode, he would be in pain, he would open his mouth to breath air and water would come in and he would swallow it, it would burn his throat, his body would crave oxygen and he wouldn't give it any and then he would slowly die, his mind would drift away and he would be free.

Meanwhile…

Akane was heading to get a bath, forgetting their guest was in there, not noticing the 'occupied' sign hung on the door, she slowly opened the door.

"Akane what are you doing?" Nabiki asked as she came round the corner.

"Just getting a bath" Akane replied.

"Oh is Ranma finished?" Nabiki asked, glancing at the occupied sign on the door, Akane turned to look inside the bathroom, the second door was open and she could see the bath was still filled with water but she saw no Ranma.

"Well I don't see her…huh?" Akane gasped, the water began to stir, something was thrashing beneath the surface, Nabiki turned when she heard Akane's alarming tone and she too saw it, they both ran to the bath, gripping the sides forcefully, looking over and into the tub, eyes widening when they saw the little boy underwater thrashing about while trying to keep himself under water, they both gripped his shoulders forcefully and lifted his head above the water despite his resistance, he began violently coughing the minute his head was above water, bits of spit and water coming out of his mouth, snot running out of his nose.

"Are you okay?" Nabiki asked, her tone for once in so very long one of concern, the boy continued to cough though not as violently.

"You shouldn't…have…done that" he wheezed, tone void of emotion like Ranma's had been.

"Why?" Nabiki asked.

"Who are you?" Akane asked, trying to work out why a little boy would break into their house and try to drown himself in their bath, another question now in her mind was 'where was Ranma?' her clothes were there but she wasn't.

"I'm Ranma Saotome…sorry about this" Ranma replied, his tone filling with self-loathing.

"Ranma?" Nabiki gasped "How?"

"A curse" was Ranma's only reply, he climbed out of the bath, quickly dried off before putting on the same clothes as before, Akane wondered why he would have a bath and then put on dirty clothes, Nabiki though had an idea, he got out without any modesty or care for what they saw and was getting dressed and leaving because he knew they wouldn't let him try that again.

'He only got a bath because he thought he would be alone long enough to…to…do it?' Nabiki gasped within her mind but then she noticed something else as she watched the small boy clasp his wrist bands upon his wrist, eyes widening when she caught a glimpse of the scars decorating his wrist.

A/N What do you all think of the rewrite, plz review and as always I am open to suggestions.


	2. Chapter 2

Slight alterations made.

Nabiki and Akane followed after Ranma, their minds riddled with questions, they stopped the minute they entered the dining area and saw an older man with a large stomach and a bald head, wearing glasses speaking with their father while they cheated each other.

'And daddy wonders why we won't play shoji with him?' Nabiki thought as she sweat dropped, the new man glanced in their direction and scowled when he saw Ranma, his gaze unnerved the teenage girls but Ranma showed no form of a reaction and was merely indifferent, unaffected by the gaze.

"RANMA WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" he roared.

"I am tired, I couldn't hold my form" Ranma responded, tone void of emotion.

"Saotome what are you talking about?" Soun asked, raising an eyebrow, his old friend had told him about the curses but not about Ranma turning into a little boy.

"On our journey we found many of the master's scrolls, this is the result of a Ki draining technique, Ranma can absorb the Ki of his opponent and grows stronger and ages into his true age, if he absorbs enough at one time otherwise he is younger…this is a side effect when he tires himself out he resorts back to the age he was when he learned the technique" he explained (1).

'Is this why Ranma is so hollow…because he is trapped in a child's body…but what about that curse?' Nabiki mused.

"Ranma you were supposed to maintain your age until you are engaged at earliest, you are a disgrace" he spat, voice filled with venom.

"He mentioned a curse" Akane said, Nabiki too stunned by how the man was addressing Ranma, noticing that Ranma barely seemed to respond.

'Is this normal?' Nabiki wondered, filing away each piece of the puzzle she was given, beginning to see why Ranma was so violently depressed.

"Oh he did, did he?" Genma asked, glaring at his son.

"Yes" Akane said, not noticing the death glare Genma was giving his son.

"Well you see, twenty years ago while we trained in China (2) we came across a training ground, Jusenkyo, it was an ancient valley with springs further than I could see…we were unaware of what true horror lay within them…we ignored the guides warnings and trained above them, atop bamboo poles, mid-air combat is an important area of the Saotome School Of Anything Goes Martial Arts, it's our specialty,

"The boy managed a lucky hit and I landed in one of the pools, the spring of drowned panda, in the adrenaline rush I didn't notice and returned the favour to my son and knocked him into the spring on the opposite side of the valley, the spring of drowned girl and from then onwards whenever we are hit by cold water we transform, Ranma into a girl and myself into a panda and only hot water can reverse it" Genma explained.

'No wonder he's depressed, he turns into a child, changes genders, which alone would cause serious negative affects to someone mental stability and his own father doesn't seem to show any affection towards him and he's endured it for two decades' Nabiki gasped within her mind, thinking she had cracked this, that she knew why Ranma had tried to drown himself and began to think she may be able to help Ranma, if only she knew that everything she had found out so far was nothing, that Ranma had endured things that made everything Nabiki had found out look like a walk in the park on a summers day.

"Now that, that is out of the way and you are all aware of what he is which one of you will fulfil the agreement and marry him?" Genma asked, glancing at the Tendo daughters, Nabiki and Akane stood where they were and Kasumi was sat at the table serving tea, Nabiki glanced at her father, he was about to speak up, she shook her head slightly and gave him a hard stare, Soun froze.

'If we all refuse him…there's no telling how long he'll last if he's already this depressed' Nabiki mused, she glanced at her younger sister, considering having her be engaged to Ranma in the meantime while she worked on a way to help Ranma, she could practically see the rage that was within her mind, Akane's mind calculating how perverted the boy was and she knew if she forced the engagement on her even if she told her it was so Ranma wouldn't kill himself her temper would only drive him over the edge even faster if she didn't kill him herself.

Nabiki glanced at Kasumi, the elder girl appeared to be unaware of how violently depressed their guest was but appeared to be actually considering it, then again she was into older people and Ranma would have an older male form.

"Mr Saotome wouldn't it be better for us to get to know Ranma better before deciding which of us is to marry him?" Nabiki asked.

"And why would that matter, all that needs to be done here is for one of you to marry Ranma and unite the schools, why would you need to know each other for that?" Genma snorted, truthfully he didn't care who his son married as long as he could leave the easy life, living off of his son.

"To ensure the marriage lasts, after all you wouldn't want a divorce to occur because the one who marries him learns that they both hate each other's guts" Nabiki countered, Genma glared at his son, if they divorced he would lose all chance of his wife deeming their son manly and it would poke major holes in his plan.

"Fine" Genma muttered, scowling at his son, blaming this whole predicament on him.

"Thank you Mr Saotome" Nabiki replied, not letting her 'Ice Queen' façade drop, Genma merely muttered angrily.

"Boy why don't you go help cook or something" Genma snapped, Ranma nodded and began heading to the kitchen, Kasumi chased after him, she had seen what Akane could do to her kitchen, she was terrified what Ranma would do, Nabiki excused herself, saying she needed to talk to Akane.

Once the room was empty Genma turned to Soun, completely unaware that he wasn't 100% behind the uniting of the schools.

"Well that's going to slow things down considerably" Genma said.

"Indeed Saotome" Soun agreed.

"But still, I do have a small idea that could speed things up" Genma admitted.

"Oh?" Soun asked, beginning to grow worried, whenever Genma had come up with a plan under the Master…well it never ended well.

"Yes, you see thanks to that technique the boy can absorb Ki and age, if he limits the amount he drains we can have him stop aging at the same age as one of your younger daughters and then we can send him to school with them and they can grow closer there" Genma stated.

"Won't that be a waste of time, sending a twenty nine year old to high school?" Soun asked, sweat dropping slightly.

"No, on our journey Ranma's school exposure was limited he turned out to absorb information rather quickly, it would only distract him from the art but now it will help us unite the schools" Genma explained.

'You stopped your son from going to school?!...are you really my friend from so long ago?' Soun mused, but soon realised if that was the case it would be better for Ranma to attend school.

"An excellent idea Saotome, perhaps we could put him in Nabiki's class" Soun proposed, knowing how violent his youngest daughter could be and that it could cause a problem and that his middle daughter was very strong academically and could help Ranma catch up, help him where he needs it and would probably be able to call in a few favours so that Ranma could go to school with them.

"Glad to see you're on board Tendo" Genma proclaimed, slapping Tendo's back with a little too much force, his elder friend fell forward a little from the impact.

Meanwhile…

Nabiki and Akane were currently in the middle Tendo's room, Akane on the bed and Nabiki on her desk chair, facing each other.

"So what did you want to talk about Nabiki?" Akane asked curiously.

"Akane I want you to control your temper" Nabiki said bluntly.

"HEY I DON'T HAVE A TEMPER" Akane yelled, Nabiki sweat dropped at this.

"Keep telling yourself that…either way I want you to go easy on Ranma" Nabiki stated.

"Huh? Why?" Akane asked, Nabiki couldn't believe how dense her sister was.

"Akane he tried to commit suicide no less than ten minutes ago, I'm not exactly surprised either, he turns into a girl and that alone would cause psychological issues, switching genders with water, how his father treats him and the fact he constantly reverts to been a child, I'm surprised he's still sane after the constant hormone rush in his adolescents whenever he returned to been a teenager" Nabiki stated.

Akane averted her gaze, images flashing of the little boy in their bath, holding himself beneath the water, trying to kill himself, thinking that if she'd been just what? Three minutes later she would have walked in to find the body of a dead child in her bath.

"I want you to be nice to him Akane" Nabiki instructed, Akane nodded.

"I'll try" Akane said, her tone quiet, the image still fresh in her mind of what she might of found.

Meanwhile…

Kasumi and Ranma were cutting vegetables for dinner, she was surprised by how skilled the young boy was in the kitchen, even with the baggy clothes that were just piled on him.

"Ranma how do you…revert to been older?" Kasumi asked.

"By absorbing Ki from other people, all I need is a ring shaped object" Ranma explained.

"If you want you could take a little of mine…it would make it easier for you to help" Kasumi proposed.

"If I take your Ki you will feel tired, very tired" Ranma stated.

"Not if you only take a little" Kasumi countered, recalling a teacher Nabiki had mentioned that reverted to been a little girl after she ran out of drained Ki, Ranma nodded in acknowledgment.

'So she knows more than she lets on' Ranma mused, his mental tone lacking any indication on curiosity.

"Very well" Ranma replied, tone still void of emotion, he fished a coin out of his pocket and drained some of Kasumi's key, only a little, Kasumi felt a small dizzy spell but it soon passed, she turned to face Ranma to see he was now only a little shorter than her and was quite muscular.

"So is this your adult male form?" Kasumi asked, not at all disappointed.

"No, from the looks of it, I'm probably seventeen eighteen" Ranma replied before returning to cutting the vegetables, not noticing his band was an inch out of place, but Kasumi did and she fought back her horrified gasp at what she saw, small scars curling out from beneath the band, unmistakable scars, scars of self-harm.

She remained quiet though, she barely knew the boy, he had only just arrived, to him she was a stranger and if a stranger starts asking about personal stuff like why he would do that to himself…well it wouldn't end well.

A/N Hope you all liked the update, plz review and as always I am open to suggestions.

(1) Basically for those of you who didn't quite understand it while on the journey Genma found many of Happosai's training scrolls one of them been Hinako's technique.

(2) Fixed chapter one so it would fit.


	3. Chapter 3

Errors fixed in spelling and plot holes.

After dinner Ranma headed upstairs to the guest bedroom, following Kasumi as he carried his and his father's pack, still in his adolescent form, long since having learned how to sustain it with focus, the only problem was he couldn't hold it when he tired himself out.

Kasumi constantly observed Ranma out of the corner of her eye, looking for any hint that would tell her why he did 'that' to himself, why his tone was so empty, void of all emotion yet she saw nothing, his expression gave away nothing and neither did his body language. She led him into the guest room.

"This is where you and your father will be staying while you are here" Kasumi stated, glancing back at Ranma to see him merely nod before placing the two packs in a corner of the room, Kasumi left the room slowly, once she was gone Ranma got ready for 'bed' wondering what his father would do to ruin his life further, like he needed to do anything, nothing could top what he'd already done.

Kasumi headed downstairs once again, knowing it was time to start cleaning up once again, letting out a tired sigh, she often wondered what the point of it all was, was this all her life was good for, acting as a maid and substitute mother for her family, when their mother died she took some time off school to mourn as were her sisters and her farther was given some time off work, she took to 'helping' around the house, distracting herself from her loss and helping her family and from then on she had to balance her time in order to get the grades she needed and help around the house. When the time came she left for university, she made a few friends and felt the pain of her mother's death begin to fade, no longer been reminded of it with every waking second by doing what she had helped her mother do, or what her mother did alone or by her father's cries, she returned eventually to see if her absence had forced her father to leave the pit of self pity and grief but when she saw how distraught her family was she had no choice, she had only been at university for a year and she had to drop out to take care of her family, sacrifice her dreams of becoming a doctor. Her absence hadn't helped and only caused the housework to build up.

'I know my reasons but…Ranma why? What happened to make you hurt yourself in such a way?…maybe that pack of yours will have the answer' Kasumi mused absentmindedly pulling down on the long sleeve on her sundress.

"Oh Kasumi dear could you make a lunch for Ranma tomorrow he will be attending school with Nabiki" Soun said.

"Oh my, isn't Ranma a little old for high school?" Kasumi asked in her usual cheery tone, hiding her true feelings and thoughts perfectly.

"He hardly ever went do to his training journey and his ability to become younger will allow him to attend" Soun explained.

"Oh...I see" Kasumi acknowledged before starting on the cleaning, all day this is all she did, clean, cook breakfast, clean, cook lunch, clean, cook dinner then clean into the early hours of the morning, get a couple hours sleep and get up to start cleaning again. This is all she meant to her family now, she used to be the eldest Tendo daughter, the eldest sister, the smart and beautiful one if what she overhears from people mean anything and now she was a slave, destined to spend the rest of her life serving her family, never letting them know how she truly feels.

Meanwhile, Ranma's Dream...

It was night, the only light been the full moon, Ranma was in his female form, his true age, within her arms lay a a small bundle, bound in her only spare shirt and within the bundle a small redheaded baby, a girl, she was running, running, like she did every night when she found herself here, she would run, she would protect her baby, she wouldn't let him do it again, no, she maybe weak but she wouldn't abandon her baby.

She ran through the trees, she could hear his heavy footsteps behind her, he was gaining on her, she nearly stopped when she reached the end, a cliff, no way to go with him behind her and so she had no choice, the minute her foot slammed on the edge of the cliff she leaped into the air, determined to either reach the other side and run among the mountains, protect her baby or die trying.

But that never happened, he gripped her ankle and threw her back, she landed on her back, skidding back until her head slammed against a tree, she let out a low groan, having only just given birth a couple of hours ago and running since she was born she was exhausted, unable to move, barely able to stay conscious, her vision blurred as she watched him, he took her baby, removed the shirt, tossing it at Ranma before holding the baby up by the neck with a single fist.

"You bring dishonor on my clan by merely existing thus I will purify this dishonor by removing you from this world" he declared before releasing his grip.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Ranma screamed as she dragged herself forward, towards her pursuer, towards her baby only to unable to get close enough to her and watch as she fell past the cliff edge, disappearing...forever, the man turned to her with a scowl and gave her a very powerful kick to the ribs, she gasped out in pain, a bit of spit coming out, darkness finally claiming her and she fell unconscious, tears streaming down her face as she once again witnessed the death of her baby.

Real World...

Ranma's eyes snapped open and he darted upright in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, eyes shaking, he'd been having that nightmare every day for years, every night the minute he lost consciousness he was greeted with 'that' running from him, trying to protect his baby and failing every time, unable to do anything except watch as he takes the child's life, sometimes the method would differ, sometimes the Neko-Ken, sometimes drowning, throwing her off a cliff...but the first was the only one with any joy in it...when he sold _her_ , to a man he met on the road while she was too weak to do anything, by the time she could the man was long gone, and she knew back then she would never see her again but now that was her favorite of them and she prayed every night that, that would be the dream she had, the few times that nightmare did come Ranma could clearly see she was thirteen, incredibly young, but these were not only nightmares and she knew that.

He saw his father move out of the corner of his eye, he knew what was coming, he gripped her wrist and lower arm before throwing him out of the window and into the koi pond where he landed with a splash, he felt the changes happen instantaneously, the change in his anatomy, he could feel it, the tingle that came with the magic accompanied by the weak feeling as his body shrank, he ha damaged to maintain his age throughout his sleep, but now he could no longer do it. Genma leaped down from the window, took one look at him and scowled.

"You're a disgrace boy, thanks to your incompetence I must cancel today's morning spar, go and get changed, now" Genma roared, Ranma moved almost zombie like back inside, heading to the guest room to get his other set of clothes before heading the bathroom to get a shower, revert to his birth form much to his dismay.

A Couple Minutes Later...

Ranma headed back downstairs in his child form and sat at the breakfast table beside his father and began to eat, not even bothering to stop his fathering from taking some of his breakfast, well most of it from him, by this point it was safe to say in the eyes of the Tendos Genma Saotome was the lowest of the low, more so in the view of Nabiki and Akane as they were the ones to stop him from drowning himself last night, Soun cleared his throat and everyone turned to him.

"Ranma you will, starting today be attending school with Nabiki" Soun said, expecting, even hoping for some form of a rebellious response you would expect from someone Ranma's age been forced to go to school but received nothing other than a nod, Nabiki eyed her father suspiciously but said nothing, she had an idea what he wanted to do, either push them together to marry or he was trying to help the young boy, either way she had helped him, she had called in a few favors to get Ranma some fake school records, she just hoped her father's motive was for Ranma and not the school.

"So naturally you will need to appear Nabiki's age" Soun instructed, Ranma fished the coin from his pocket and drained some of Soun's key, who much like Kasumi experienced a small dizzy spell but that soon passed and now beside Genma was the same adolescent boy from last night, broad, muscular, the odd scar showing on his arms, through his eye with a hard stare.

'I just hope nothing happens to make Ranma worse at school' Soun mused, completely unaware of the horde that awaited his youngest daughter.

"Well Ranma we better get going or we'll be late" Nabiki spoke up, standing and grabbing her bag, Kasumi handed her, her lunch before turning to Ranma, handing him a bag of his own and his lunch.

"I hope you have a nice day Ranma" Kasumi said in a cheerful tone, Ranma once again merely nodded before following Nabiki out of the house.

Once they were out of earshot of the Tendo household, Nabiki glanced in Ranma's direction and asked the major question that had waited within her mind since last night.

"Why?" Nabiki asked.

"Why what?" Ranma responded, receiving a small glare from Nabiki as she knew he knew what she was talking about about and he knew it.

"Why did you try to kill yourself last night?" Nabiki clarified.

"Because I have no reason to live" Ranma responded.

"Huh? What do you mean you don't have a reason to live?" Nabiki asked.

"A little tip Tendo, don't ask questions you can't handle the answers to" Ranma responded.

"And who says I can't handle it?" Nabiki asked, a little aggressive with her tone.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know" Ranma responded.

"Who says, if you tell me maybe I can help" Nabiki responded.

"No one can help, I've lost too much to be helped" Ranma responded, Nabiki turned her head to fully face Ranma, making eye contact, she shivered at what she saw, she had never seen eyes like his, so focused, filled with grief and despair without measure, it even topped her father's the day her mother died, it scared her, she didn't want to even imagine what those storm blue eyes had seen, what he had experienced but she had to know, she had to help him, her next question was stopped when Ranma's eyes narrow.

"This is your only warning Tendo, my past is a dangerous place, leave it and let it be, it's my problem and I will deal with it...I won't destroy your innocense" Ranma responded.

"Ranma in no way am I innocent" Nabiki replied, a small smirk upon her face.

"Compared to me you are as innocent as a newborn baby, you lost a mother I lost something greater, compared to myself you have the innocence of a child and I will not corrupt it, don't ask questions" Ranma responded, beginning to speed up, Nabiki followed after him, unable to imagine what he could of been talking about, what could be worse than losing your mother?

A/N Hope you all liked the chappie, plz review and as always I am open to suggestions.


	4. Chapter 4

A few changes have been made, a couple scenes have been added.

The duo neared the school and Nabiki could already see the horde had formed and was awaiting her younger sister, she constantly glanced at Ranma, remembering what he had said about refusing to take her innocence, she'd been racking her brain for ten minutes now and she could think of nothing worse than losing your mother, especially since he still had his father.

"What's going on?" Ranma asked, clearly noticing the army of students.

"Trust me…you don't wanna know" Nabiki sighed, they entered through the gates and began to head to the door, the horde parting for Nabiki, a couple glancing at Ranma, their glances either of confusion or pity as they wondered what Nabiki had on him to make him her escort.

"Ah, miss Nabiki Tendo" a pompous tone greeted, Nabiki's shoulders sagged she'd recognize that tone anywhere, she stopped and slowly turned to see the mentally challenged Kendo practitioner and her main source of income, Ranma stopped beside her and turned to face the newcomer.

"Not now Kuno" Nabiki said bluntly.

"But Nabiki I merely wish to purchase more pictures of my beloved and money is no object" Kuno replied.

"Pictures?" Ranma asked.

"And who are you whelp to interrupt my business with Miss Tendo?" Kuno inquired, pointing his wooden sword at Ranma, pressing the tip beneath his chin, Ranma opened his mouth to reply only to be interrupted.

"Hold, isn't it customary to give one's own name before inquiring another, fine then mine I shall give, I am Tatewaki Kuno, rising star of the Kendo world and the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High" Kuno declared dramatically.

"Ranma Saotome, practitioner of the Saotome School Of Anything Goes Martial Arts" Ranma replied, his tone void of all feeling, meeting Kuno dead in the eye with a cold, stone glare, Kuno stumbled back, surprised and terrified by the sudden change in the adolescent before him, he'd never seen eyes like that, eyes without fear and filled with suffering, eyes that held a promise to kill.

"So what pictures" Ranma asked, his glare fading away.

"Picture of my beloved Akane Tendo" Kuno replied.

"So you're buying pornographic pictures of a minor from her sister" Ranma stated bluntly, Nabiki stumbled back at his bluntness, was that really what she was doing, truthfully the pictures were only of her exercising but could they really be considered pornographic? Then again this was Kuno and if she gave it any thought she knew what he did with them she just always refused to believe it.

"What are you insinuating?" Kuno inquired, gripping his weapon harder.

"What do you think?" Ranma retorted.

"I think you are insulting a member of the noble clan of Kuno" Kuno declared swinging his boken at Ranma, Ranma did nothing and let the boken hit his shoulder full force, the boken shattered due to the force put into it, Kuno's eyes widened.

'How is he still standing?' Kuno gasped within his mind.

"Please my father hit me harder than that when I was ten" Ranma stated before pulling back his fist and striking Kuno in the gut, Kuno arched over, several sickly crack like sounds echoing from him, Ranma brought up his arm and slammed his elbow into the center of Kuno's lower back, he fell to the ground, letting out low groans as he was claimed by unconsciousness.

Nabiki just gawked, she hadn't seen anyone take Kuno out other than her sister and not even she had done so quickly, she glanced back to where Kuno had struck him.

"You sure you're okay?" Nabiki asked, nodding her head to his shoulder.

"It's nothing...what I want to know is why you sell pictures of your little sister to this sicko" Ranma retorted, a little aggression entering his tone.

"It's not like I want to or enjoy it, if I didn't do this we would of been on the streets years ago, daddy tries his best but his paycheck from the council doesn't stretch far enough, he needs to get a new job but there isn't exactly many openings at the moment...people may owe me favors but no one would help me out in keeping my family off the streets, Akane's put half the student population in hospital thanks to her fights so all parents wouldn't care, especially when Akane's apologies consisted of insults and combined with my reputation of black mail to get money to keep us off the streets not even our fellow peers or strangers would take pity on us" Nabiki replied, Ranma didn't ask anymore questions and so Nabiki just led him to class, hoping to god that Ranma didn't see the horde charging at Akane.

Classroom...

Nabiki took her usual seat near the window of the class room, Ranma waited at front of the class, by the window, waiting for the teacher to arrive and introduce him when something caught his eye, Akane had finally turned up to school and was been charged at by the boys, he had to admit Akane's battle aura was impressive even if her skill was lacking but the anger made it uncontrollable the basic thing was Akane couldn't fight at her best unless enveloped by rage it seemed and by then she couldn't control herself.

It wasn't until Akane was half way through the horde that Ranma saw what was going on, the males were coping feels every chance they got, even while receiving powerful punches and kicks they would grab her, they were harassing her, harassment that Ranma was all too familiar with. Anger coursed through him, images of her past flashing before his minds eye, images of what her father let people do to him when he was a her, images of what people paid Genma to do to her, images of every time he was raped.

A deep red glow formed around Ranma and only grew in size and darker colour as these images continued to flash before him, for this was the great power within him, his rage for he had learned the ultimate Ki technique of the anything goes school, a technique that can only be mastered through true suffering, a technique that taps into the strongest emotion it finds and exploits it, merging it with the Ki, each with its own different affect, depression would act almost like a shield forcing all those that come into contact with it to feel the despair of the user but anger was another story, anger was a weapon, anger would destroy and what coursed through Ranma at that moment was pure rage.

Nabiki dared not even move, Ranma's aura was putting Akane's to shame, she wasn't a martial artist but even she could feel the raw power there, she watched as Ranma leaped from the window.

Miss Hinako, currently in her child form was about to enter her classroom when she felt it, Ki solely based on anger and pure rage, it was raw and powerful, she began to fear for her students safety, charging through the door just in time to see a student she had yet to see before, not wearing a school uniform, jump from the window, she ran to the window, looking over, expecting to see a student fall to his death only to see him land gracefully, his aura burning the ground, even disintegrating some of it. She watched as he approached the horde, the fighting stopped.

Akane glanced round in confusion, all the boys had turned their backs to her, no longer fighting or trying to feel her but now backing away from something or someone, she tried to peer over their heads to see what it was, she couldn't quite see it but she could feel it though and it scared her, she'd never felt such power before and then she saw him, Ranma Saotome walking through the horde, he didn't say anything but his expression spoke volumes, the boys began to scatter, all could see he was in no mood to talk and would likely beat the shit out of them at best if they tried anything, they had seen what he did to Kuno.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Akane roared, fuming that Ranma had interrupted her morning fights.

"No more" Ranma replied, his voice barley a whisper.

"WHAT?" Akane yelled.

"No more, these fights end, NOW" Ranma roared, his knuckles turning white within his fists.

Meanwhile...

Kasumi had entered the guestroom and was now going through Ranma and Genma's packs, hoping to find some clue to why Ranma was like this, hoping she could find a way to help him, she found nothing in Ranma's pack besides scrolls and bricks and several rocks, her gaze narrowed at this, there was no excuse for Ranma to carry such weight, she turned to Genma's pack and began searching, she found even more scrolls, a couple yen, an empty canteen, a book and a piece of paper.

Kasumi picked out the paper and carefully unfolded, she read it over and felt all the blood drain from her face and felt the strength of her grip increase as she heard the paper crinkle and for the first time in so long Kasumi felt angry, for in her hands was a contract, a contract she never believed in her wildest dreams, no her most horrific nightmares, a contract with inhuman terms, she read it over and over, hoping she had misread it but it was to no avail.

'So this is the reason why Ranma is like this...that bastard, he takes Ranma and treats him the way he did and to top it all off he ensures he can never see his mother again, especially now he has that curse, how can Ranma become a man among men when he turns into a woman, if his mother even sees him he will have to commit seppuku, he's trapped, Ranma is trapped, either live life as a homeless ronin, hell on earth, then again his other choice is living under his father's authority, that's even worse and his final choice is...death' Kasumi gasped within her mind before falling to her knees, forgetting all about the book, tears welling in her eyes, her mother was dead but with Ranma it was almost just as bad, his mother was alive and well yet he could never see her without her killing him, she imagined how she would feel having to hide behind an abusive father from the one who was supposed to love her most of all.

If only Kasumi knew that what she had found this day was still merely the tip of the iceberg, another layer, barley beneath the surface, only hiding the true horror of Ranma's life for what Ranma has suffered, has lost is far more than what this contract has took from him.

Furinkan High...

Ranma was stood at the front of the class, waiting for Miss Hinako to introduce him to the class, the child of a teacher continued to look over him, sizing him up and filing him in her mind under delinquet, she was surprised though that the boy didn't react to see a child teaching a class.

"Well class this is our new student, Ranma Saotome, now Ranma why don't you tell the class something about yourself" Hinako introduced, never turning away from the student, Ranma stepped forward.

"As you now know my name is Ranma Saotome, I'm a practitioner of the Saotome School Of Anything Goes Martial Arts" Ranma replied.

"Anything Goes?" Hinako gasped, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I take it as you know my style?" Ranma asked, giving the diminutive teacher a sideways glance.

"I'm familiar with the original style not your particular branch though" Hinako admitted.

"Don't be so sure teach I'd recognize that technique anywhere, Happö Go-en Satsu, am I right?" Ranma inquired with a small smirk, raising his eyebrow before heading towards the empty seat at the front of the class next to the window, leaving the gawking teacher behind him.

'How does he know my technique?' Hinako mused before starting on that days lesson, paying special close attention to her new students, making sure to take every opportunity she could to catch him off guard with a question.

"Saotome, answer this question" Hinako instructed tapping an equation with her ruler.

"X=5" Ranma responded.

"This" Hinako tried again with another question.

"X=Y to the power of negative one" Ranma replied, Nabiki just stared at Ranma, her father had told her that Ranma would most likely need help but he appeared to be a very fast learner.

By the end of the class Hinako had given up on trying to catch Ranma out, the break bell sounded and her students began to file out.

"Mr Saotome could you stay behind for a couple minutes?" Hinako asked, Ranma nodded and stepped out of the cue to leave the classroom and approached his teacher.

"Yes Sensei?" Ranma asked.

"Ranma how are you familiar with my technique when you haven't even seen me use it?" Hinako asked.

"The child form kind of gave it away" Ranma replied.

"You know what I mean" Hinako stressed, pouting at Ranma's reply, the sight was rather cute.

"You're not the only one who knows that technique" Ranma replied.

"What?" Hinako asked after blinking.

'He can't know it, you have to be young to learn that technique and there's no way he's held his true form for this long' Hinako screamed within her mind.

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough teach" Ranma replied before heading out of the classroom, leaving behind him the bewildered teacher.

Meanwhile...

In another city of Japan an exhausted girl collapsed upon her bed, or rather her mattress, next week was her sixteenth birthday and she already knew what would happen, it would be the same as every year, she would work until she was too tired to stand and all her muscles ached before collapsing on this dusty, old, stained mattress and fall asleep, the only difference would be she'd 'go on the market' as her 'boss' put it, he always told her once she reached sixteen she would join the ranks of his other prostitutes, all money paid straight to him and then she'd get a miniscule cut, if she got any of it. She'd often tried to run away and always failed and was now locked in her own room, when she approached her 'boss' with the speech how she had rights and wasn't a mere object he would say,

'I bought you when you were a couple days old, I own you, you have no rights' and he was right, she was sold to him, she belonged to him and from what he told her it was her own grand father who sold her to him. She looked round her room, it was small, old and dusty, walls built of wood, a small dresser with some clothes piled on top, work clothes which consisted of revealing dresses and shirts and a couple pants, all of which highlight her curves and made her look rather loose and slutty, just like her boss wanted.

In the center of her ceiling was a single light bulb, no light shade or anything, the room was only big enough for the dresser and her mattress, she had no sheet or blanket and so had to make do with her work clothes and get beaten for wrinkling them or sleep in the nude or in her underwear and hope it isn't too cold.

Her door shook violently, the signature knock of her owner.

"What are you doing in there you still have another hour before your break" he roared.

"Sykes I'm exhausted, I've been working since midnight" she moaned.

"WHAT?!" Sykes roared.

"Nothing, I'll be right there" she replied rather quickly a slight stutter in her voice, she learned long ago never to make Sykes angry.

'Why?...Why did he sell me to him...did he know I'd become a slut the minute I turn sixteen...did he know I'd bring dishonor...or did my mother just not want me?' these thoughts echoed throughout her mind day in day out as she worked, the first thing she thought of when she woke up and the last thing she would think before falling asleep and every night she would dream of finding her mother, finding her against all odds before it turned into a nightmare and she'd tell her she didn't want her and send her back to Sykes.

A/N Hope you all liked the chappie, plz review and as always I am open to suggestions, I will take constructive criticism as long as you have a suggestion to make it better but if you only have criticism I don't want or need to hear it, no one does.


	5. Chapter 5

Ranma and the two Tendo sisters returned home once school had finished, making pretty good time despite the fact that Kuno had challenged Ranma on his way out, saying how he would never permit to Ranma been engaged to Akane, completely ignoring Nabiki when she explained the engagement had yet to be decided, long story short Kuno was sent to the hospital with several broken bones.

The minute the trio returned to the dojo they were greeted by Kasumi, the elder Tendo approached them or more specifically Ranma before pulling him into a hug, towering over him due to Ranma's adolescent size.

"I'm so sorry" Kasumi gasped out, her voice but a whisper but Ranma heard it loud and clear, his gaze narrowed.

"What do you know?" Ranma questioned his voice dropping to a whisper but there was no mistaking how firm his tone was.

"Everything…I know about the contract Ranma" Kasumi replied, Ranma seemed to relax a little, confusing Kasumi, her eyes then widened and her own body stiffened at Ranma's reply.

"What contract?" he whispered.

' _What contract? How could he even ask that…unless he doesn't know, but then if he didn't know of that then…what is it that has him so depressed?'_ Kasumi inwardly gasped.

"What contract?" he asked again, noticing the sudden change in the elder Tendo sister's demeanour.

"Don't ask" Kasumi replied, her voice beginning to shake as her hatred for Genma grew, she had never hated anyone before…but now she loathed Genma, every ounce of hatred she could muster was directed at him, not only had he abused his own son, got him cursed and got him so depressed he was willing to harm himself but had promised his mother if he didn't become what he wanted they would both commit ritual seppuku and he hadn't even told Ranma. Kasumi's entire body began to shake with rage.

Nabiki noticed the drastic change in her sister's behaviour and narrowed her gaze.

"Tell me" Ranma replied, his tone once again void of emotion, Kasumi pulled away and looked at Ranma, tears glistening in her eyes.

"You don't want to know" Kasumi stated, her voice rising slightly above a whisper and cracking in the progress.

"Kasumi, do you mind if I talk to you in private for a minute?" Nabiki questioned.

"Of course not sister, we can speak in my room if you like" Kasumi replied, Nabiki merely nodded, Kasumi then led her oldest younger sister to her room.

Kasumi's Room…

Unlike the other rooms belonging to her father and sister Kasumi's room was near empty, she simply had the essentials one would need, a bed, made to perfection, a dresser with a mirror, a bedside table where a family picture sat and a wardrobe in the far corner but that was it, Kasumi quickly headed to her dresser, keeping her back to Nabiki, blocking her view of the piece of furniture.

Not letting her see what was on it, she opened one of the draws and pushed a small blade from a shaver into the draw, closing it and locking it before turning to face her sister.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?" Kasumi questioned.

"You know something about Ranma" Nabiki stated, getting straight to the point.

"What makes you say that?" Kasumi questioned, feigning ignorance, her body not even flinching when Nabiki hit the nail on the dot.

"It's obvious that you do Kasumi, you hugged him the minute he stepped through the door and I did notice your little conversation so tell me what do you know" Nabiki stated, Kasumi let out a small sigh.

' _Why am I even trying to hide it from her, surely it would be better to tell her and then both of us can help set things right'_ Kasumi mused.

"Yes, fine I know something about Ranma" Kasumi admitted.

"Well, what is it? What do you know?" Nabiki pushed.

"That his father is worse than we thought, I went through their stuff today and found a little contract signed by that bastards thump print and several of little Ranma's handprints, stating that if Ranma didn't become the man among men his mother and father wanted Ranma and his father would commit seppuku" Kasumi stated.

"Seppuku" Nabiki gasped, drawing in a sharp breath.

"Yes, so now Ranma's choices are, leave the Saotome clan and become ronin and be looked down upon by all, remain under the thumb of his abusive father…or…death" Kasumi gasped out, her voice beginning to shake as tears began to slide down her cheeks.

"And after what happened yesterday...there's no doubt in my mind which option he would go for" Nabiki stated, all colour now drained from her face.

"Why? What happened yesterday?" Kasumi questioned, worry evident in her tone.

"Oh...that's right you weren't there" Nabiki muttered, wishing she hadn't said anything.

"Nabiki what happened?" Kasumi questioned in a stern tone, Nabiki let out a heavy sigh.

"Last night...when Ranma took his bath...Akane and I walked in on him...and well...he was holding himself underwater...Kasumi he was trying to kill himself, to commit suicide because he knew nobody would find him until it was too late...doubting anyone would enter while he was in there until the job was done" Nabiki stated.

"And now he has a way to end his life and revive his honor" Kasumi stated.

"Hold on...if he can revive his honor through seppuku then why try drowning himself, unless..." Nabiki drifted off.

"He doesn't know" Kasumi stated, Nabiki became even more pale at hearing this.

"What is it Nabiki" Kasumi questioned, noticing her younger sister's reaction.

"Don't you see, Ranma doesn't know about this so this can't be the reason he's so depressed and I doubt that his curse, the abuse he endured and his 'condition' of regressing in age is what's caused it...so once again we're back to square one, with the major million dollar question, What is so horrible in Ranma's past that it has caused this much psychological damage, to make him willing to surrender his own life?" Nabiki stated.

"Kasumi's eyes widened in realization, unable to believe she had overlooked that, after all the main reason she went through their stuff was to find out why Ranma was like this, what had happened to cause this.

Knock Knock

The two Tendo sister's heads span round to face the door.

"Err...come in" Kasumi stammered nervously, the door opened slowly to reveal Ranma, he stepped in and kicked the door shut with his heel.

"Is there something I can do for you Ranma?" Kasumi questioned.

"Downstairs, you were talking about a contract, what contract?" Ranma questioned, his tone filled with suspicion, no longer empty, his gaze narrowing.

"It's nothing, I was mistaken" Kasumi replied.

"Don't even bother trying lying Kasumi" Ranma stated.

"Why would I lie Ranma?" Kasumi questioned, her tone and appearance one of perfect innocence.

"I can see your aura, I can read it and your keeping something big from me, so spill it" Ranma stated.

"Why should we tell you?" it was Nabiki who replied, Ranma turned his attention to the middle Tendo "You keep secrets from us Saotome so you can't blame us for having our own secrets" she stated, Ranma's gaze narrowed.

"Except my secrets are about my past, something I'm protecting you from and from the sound of it you know a secret about my past that I don't know of, so talk and don't call me Saotome" Ranma replied, the last part his voice laced with venom, the Tendo sisters stumbled back at hearing Ranma's tone having adjusted to his tone been void emotion and suddenly having it turn into such a threatening one, that with the dark glow within his eyes, it terrified them, Nabiki swallowed her fear and took a step forward.

"And how does keeping secrets protect us, what could be so terrible that it would change everything for us?" Nabiki snapped, images flashed before Ranma's mind's eye, images of a scarlet haired girl on her knees in the middle of a clearing, the skies dark with storm clouds as rain poured from the heavens, before the girl was a small pile of disturbed soil at the foot of a tree, signifying something had been buried there, tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Just trust me, there are things you never want to know and should never know...leave my past alone Tendo, people say the past is a dangerous thing, well mine is and I will take it to my grave, now tell me what you're hiding from me" Ranma stated, his eyes seeming to grow darker with every word.

"Not until you tell me why, why you tried to kill yourself and what happened to you in your past?" Nabiki questioned.

"This is your final warning Tendo, be wary of where you tread and if you continue to refuse to tell me what you're hiding from me then I'll be forced to find out myself and remember this I have nothing else left to lose and nothing will stop me from finding out" Ranma stated before approaching Kasumi, making eye contact with her, his hand blurred for a second.

"See you at dinner" Ranma stated, his tone once again becoming void of emotion, before leaving the room and heading to his own, once there he fished a piece of paper out of his pocket and began reading its contents.

 _'Foolish girls actually thought they could keep this from me'_ Ranma thought to himself, getting the paper had been child's play, spending the conversation searching for it, scanning Kasumi's person and locating it within the pocket of her apron. With each word he read he felt a sharp jolt through his heart while at the same time growing a small smirk, fore he had found a way to die, where no one would stop him, or rather could stop him, but still the pain of knowing he had an abusive father who murdered her babies after they were born and a mother who wouldn't hesitate to kill her struck him, struck him hard, a single tear slid down his cheek, he wiped it away.

'I sealed my emotions away years ago, this changes nothing except for giving me freedom' Ranma declared within his mind.

A/N Sorry I took so long and it's so short, getting some writers block but a plot is forming, weird, plz review and plz no flames, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated though, I'm planning on this been a RanmaxHinako pairing, well that was the original plan, any suggestions on writing this pairing would be a major help.


	6. Chapter 6

That Night…

Deep in the mountainous rages of Japan, thunder clouds gathered, the sky growing darker as a large boulder blocking the entrance to a cave began to shake, cracking as the shaking grew more violent, cracks began to rapidly spread throughout the boulder before finally it shattered. Sharp pieces of rock shot out everywhere and lightning struck and the heavens began to pour.

A small gnome like creature stepped out of the cave, smirking darkly, relishing the feeling of the cool water drenching his wrinkled flesh, after been sealed away for over a decade and a half even something as depressing as rain brought him joy.

"Now it is time to release my wrath on those who imprisoned me…fools as if they actually believed I'd die in that cave all I needed to do was descend into a brief period of hibernation to recuperate my strength and recover from that hangover" he muttered darkly before leaping into the air and heading towards Nerima where he planned to meet with one of his treacherous students.

Meanwhile…

The Tendos and Saotomes were sat around the dining table, enjoying the meal Kasumi had cooked for them, the meal like the others had been eaten in silence, all focused on their inner debates.

' _What could it be, if it's not the physical and emotional abuse or his constant de-aging into a child or that stupid contract then what has caused Ranma to descend into such critical levels of depression…maybe Kasumi had the right idea about going through Genma's stuff, she found the contract maybe I'll find out his big secret'_ Nabiki mused, going over everything she had learned about the pigtailed 'boy'.

' _Perhaps if Ranma won't open up to us he will to a professional…maybe Nabiki knows of a teacher or something who can help him'_ Kasumi mused, absent mindedly rubbing her wrists through the sleeves of her dress.

' _So I now have a way to end my life with honour…the only problem been I have no idea where my mother is…Genma would know but from the looks of the contract I would be beaten to the edge of death for even asking about her, Nabiki, no she may be able to find out but she knows of the contract and so would do everything to stop me from meeting her and the same goes for Kasumi, Akane wouldn't know but Soun…yes he's perfect'_ Ranma mused, growing a small smirk.

After dinner Kasumi cleared the dishes like she always did and headed to the kitchen and Kasumi followed after her, Akane headed out to the dojo to train and Genma left to go find the shoji board while Soun took his usual position on the porch, enjoying the cool night air as he awaited his old friend, Ranma approached him.

"Mr Tendo" Ranma began.

"Please Ranma, call me Soun" Soun replied.

"Soun…do you know my mother?" Ranma questioned, Soun furrowed his brow at the seemingly random question.

"Yes, I do why do you ask?" Soun responded.

"I was just hoping you could tell me where she lives" Ranma replied, Soun's expression fell.

"I'm sorry Ranma but I'm not entirely sure of her address, I'll give her a ring tomorrow and hopefully she won't have moved over the last couple years" Soun replied.

"Thank you Soun, you don't know how much I appreciate this" Ranma replied, bowing his head before heading up stairs and to bed.

Meanwhile…

Nabiki approached Kasumi as she elder Tendo began to wash the dishes.

"Is there something you need Nabiki?" Kasumi questioned, wondering why her younger sister had followed her.

"Actually yes, Kasumi I want you to call in tomorrow and say I'm sick or something" Nabiki said, knowing that anyone in Nerima wouldn't dare think Kasumi as been remotely deceptive and would believe anything she said.

"But Nabiki you know more than anyone else how important school is, why would you want to skip?" Kasumi questioned.

"Because while Ranma's at school I'm going to go through his and his father's pack and see if I can find anything, after all you did find that contract, maybe I'll be able to find out the true reason Ranma is like this" Nabiki replied.

"And the only time you would be able to go through their things without been found out is when Ranma's at school, and since Genma will be playing shoji all day no one will find you out" Kasumi stated.

"Exactly, so you can guess missing a single day of school is a small price to pay in order to gain the information that Ranma's been keeping close to his chest" Nabiki replied.

"Well…in that case…I will do as you ask and call the school, just this once" Kasumi replied with a small sigh, Nabiki gave a nod in response and began to take her leave only to be stopped by Kasumi placing her wet hand on Nabiki's shoulder. The middle Tendo paused and turned to face her elder sister.

"Before you go, do you know of anyone who might be able to help Ranma…perhaps a therapist or just someone who might be able to relate to him?" Kasumi asked, Nabiki looked thoughtful for a second.

'How could I over look this option…I was just so concentrated and finding out by myself that I overlooked something so simple' Nabiki chided herself.

"Well I don't know about a therapist but maybe Miss Hinako could relate to him…she reverts to been a child, like Ranma so maybe…she might be able to connect with him" Nabiki mused.

"Really…well I'll be sure to have a word with this teacher tomorrow" Kasumi replied before turning back to the sink and continuing the washing up as Nabiki headed to her room.

The Next Day…

The Tendo household residents currently sat around the dining table, enjoying the breakfast Kasumi had prepared when there was a knock at the door. Kasumi rose from her seated position before heading to the door.

Kasumi opened the door to be greeted by a small old man wearing a maroon coloured GI, wearing a rather pleasant smile, attempting to appear as a picture of pure innocence.

"Can I help you sir?" Kasumi asked.

"I certainly hope so, am I right in thinking that this is Soun Tendo's residence?" he questioned.

"Yes…how do you know my father?" Kasumi questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm his master, I am Happosai the founder and master of the school of Anything Goes Martial Arts" Happosai declared proudly "Now may I come in and see my former student?" he continued.

"Of course" Kasumi replied before stepping aside allowing him to enter their home before closing the door and leading him to the dining room.

"Father there is a man here to see you" Kasumi stated.

"Oh?" Soun questioned, a pleasant smile upon his face, one which quickly vanished when Kasumi side stepped to reveal the face that stared in all his nightmares and one he had prayed to never see again.

"M…Master" Soun stammered.

"How have you been Soun old buddy, it looks like you've managed to build a lovely family for yourself" Happosai replied, looking over the other residents, momentarily stopping on Genma "Ah, Genma I didn't expect to see you here" he greeted, taking great satisfaction as both his students began to nervously sweat.

Happosai continued to move his gaze, taking not of each of their auras and wasn't overly impressed, Akane's was beam red, tainted and fuelled by anger, Nabiki seemed restricted, like she was refusing to let it even slightly interact with anyone and anything, a true individual unwilling to let anyone in. Kasumi's aura was mostly white, showing no true emotion only a mask nearly impossible to see through but below it a black aura hid within it, the bottom layer, one of depression. His gaze soon moved to Ranma and he stiffened, his aura had a thick outer layer of black with a deep red lying beneath it.

' _Depression combined with pure rage'_ Happosai inwardly gasped when he saw Ranma's aura.

"Master but…how…?" Soun stammered.

"It'll take more than a little rock slide and over a decade of imprisonment to put me down" Happosai replied before approaching Ranma.

"Now what's your name young one?" Happosai asked, Ranma quickly rose to his feet and took a step back from the ancient master, fear beginning to infiltrate his eyes, his sudden movement causing his leg to knock the table, knocking his glass of water off the table and onto his barefoot.

Happosai froze when he saw Ranma turn into a busty redhead, fighting his original instinct to latch onto her breast and observed the change in her aura, her aura merely expanded and the red became a deeper shade and the black somehow became darker appearing to be formed of almost pure darkness.

"Stay away from me" Ranma hissed, unable to mask the fear in his voice, he could feel it, in his aura, the perversity that infiltrated his aura, Happosai stopped his advancement.

"I'm sorry" Happosai sighed, Ranma stiffened.

' _He knows…he knows what I've been through…he could reveal everything I've been trying to hide'_ Ranma inwardly screamed.

"Don't worry I won't try anything" Happosai replied.

' _She was raped, it's all over her aura and would explain that blackness, but something tells me there's more to this than just rape, she isn't broken or displaying fear to others, judging by the Tendos this reaction is new…and that rage where does it come from?'_ Happosai mused.

"I'll keep my distance don't worry and if you need anything…don't hesitate to ask…I'll have a talk with you two later" Happosai stated, turning to glare at his two students.

A/N Sorry I took so long to update this fic, next chapter will be hopefully better, plz review and any suggestions will be appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7

While the chaos continued at the Tendo residence Kasumi slipped out and began to make her way to Furinkan High School, in hopes of finding Hinako and having a word with her before school started. The journey itself had been a short one as Kasumi made use of her longer legs to travel the distance at a quicker pace.

Furinkan High School…

Kasumi made her way through the school gates just in time to see what appeared to be a little girl wearing a yellow dress enter the school building, holding a handful of books against her small torso.

 _'She must be the teacher Nabiki told me about'_ Kasumi mused to herself before chasing after the diminutive teacher. Kasumi crossed the courtyard in record time and got through the doors just in time to see Hinako turn off the corridor and began to head up the stairs, Kasumi once again took chase, her footsteps echoing throughout the empty corridor, she soon rounded the turn and started up the stairs, glancing up to see the small hand of her target on the banister on the floor above her. She began to climb the stairs as fast as she could.

 _'Damn this sundress'_ Kasumi inwardly cursed as the length of her dress slowed her down, preventing her from climbing the staircase as fast as she could without tripping. She heard the door above her open and close when she reached the second floor, Kasumi let out a frustrated sigh and continued her climb before finally exiting the stairs on the third floor and entered the end of a corridor, she began to head down the said corridor, glancing in each classroom as she did, searching for the teacher.

She finally found the classroom after nearly reaching the opposite side of the hallway, she had glanced in and seen the little girl ticking worksheets and writing comments before adding them to a pile and reaching for the next one. She lightly raised her hand curled into a first before lightly knocking on the door, the girl's head shot up and turned to the door, eyes widening.

"Err…come in" Hinako said hesitantly, caught off guard by the surprise of someone coming to see her, the door opened and Kasumi entered the classroom.

"Hello, am I right in thinking that you are Miss Hinako?" Kasumi greeted.

"Yes, can I help you?" Hinako questioned, raising an eyebrow, putting down her pen and taking a small break from her marking.

"Yes…well, it's not me…you see my sister told me that you might be able to help our friend" Kasumi explained.

"Sister?" Hinako asked.

"Yes, my name is Kasumi Tendo and no doubt you know my little sister, Nabiki" Kasumi replied.

"Ah, the mercenary girl, she certainly has quite the reputation" Hinako replied "So why would she say that I would be able to help your friend, considering how you said it I don't think that your friend simply needs some extra tuition" she continued, Kasumi's expression seemed to fall.

"Well…not really…you see he has had quite a hard life and he…he's suicidal and refuses to open up to any of us and we thought he might open up to you" Kasumi replied.

"Why would he open up to me?" Hinako asked, now giving this issue one hundred and ten percent of her attention.

"You two…you're sort of the same…like you he reverts to been a child after expensing his Ki" Kasumi explained, Hinako stiffened.

 _'Another…like me…hold on…'_ Hinako inwardly gasped.

"Is this friend of yours perchance Ranma Saotome?" Hianko questioned, recalling how knowledgeable he had been about her 'condition'.

"Yes" Kasumi admitted with a tired sigh, her expression falling "So will you help him?" she asked.

"How can I help?" Hianko asked, not seeing why Ranma would open up to her just because they both learned the same technique.

"By talking to him and convincing him to open up, reach out to him…Nabiki and I thought that maybe on a lunchtime you could have sort of a therapy session or something" Kasumi admitted, Hinako looked to be considering it for a second before finally letting out a small sigh.

"I'll do what I can…but I can't make any promises, students don't usually open up to teachers about things they're suicidal about, especially those of Ranma's age" Hinako replied.

"I don't think the lack of opening up when it comes to teenagers will be your main problem" Kasumi replied.

"What do you mean?" Hinako asked, before Kasumi could answer the door opened and a small group of students entered the classroom and made their ways to their chairs, normally they would head to the windows and watch the morning fights from a safe distance but after Ranma's response to seeing the fights no one even thought that the fights would continue. Kasumi took their arrival as a sign to leave.

"Thank you for hearing me out Miss Hinako and please do what you can, please tell us when you find out why he's...you know" Kasumi replied, doubting Ranma would appreciate her announcing some of his classmates that he was suicidal, even if they didn't know who it was they would find out soon enough, the diminutive teacher merely nodded in response as the elder Tendo turned and began to take her leave.

Meanwhile…

Nabiki waited until Ranma and Akane had left for school and for Genma to leave to find the shoji board before she began to head upstairs.

"Nabiki why aren't you going to school?" Soun questioned.

"I'm doing some reconnaissance to try and help Ranma and I thought that it would be worth to miss a single day of school" Nabiki replied.

"I see, well don't make a habit of it" Soun replied, he may not know how bad things were with Ranma but he wasn't stupid and could clearly see something was seriously wrong.

"Don't worry I won't" Nabiki replied.

"Nabiki you shouldn't snoop around, if Ranma wants you to learn about his past then he will tell you, you shouldn't try to reveal his secrets by force" Happosai stated as he turned to face the middle Tendo.

"Happosai if we don't know what the problem is then how can we help him?" Nabiki challenged.

"Ranma doesn't want to be helped, his wounds are still raw, when he is ready he will open up on his own, don't force him" Happosai replied.

"You know what it is, don't you, what Ranma's hiding" Nabiki stated, her gaze narrowing.

"I know some of what he's hiding yes" Happosai admitted.

"Then tell me" Nabiki responded.

"No" Happosai replied.

"Happosai, he's suicidal, we managed to stop him the first night he came here and I don't think we'll be able to stop him next time and even if we're lucky enough that we can stop him the next time and the time after and even the time after that he only needs to get 'lucky' once" Nabiki spat.

"He attempted suicide" Soun gasped.

"Yes" Nabiki stated.

"There is nothing I can do Nabiki, I don't know the whole thing and I can't tell you what I do know, only that he is broken emotionally and mentally but…physically…he's stronger than anyone and anything I have ever come across" Happosai replied.

"What do you mean?" Nabiki questioned.

"Ranma possesses the aura of destruction, appropriately named for it is something a martial artist of a high calibre like Ranma learns subconsciously to protect themselves…after they experience something on par with torture. The attack itself is an aura that fuels itself on one dominant emotion and with someone like Ranma who is so emotionally unstable that he has forced control upon himself, he is unwilling to feel, and this technique only enforces it, you see, this aura is death incarnate, when fuelled by rage it can level mountains and the angrier to the user becomes the more powerful and uncontrollable it is and that is only one emotion, so imagine how powerful others would be, it is called the aura of destruction because it will destroy everything the minute it is unleashed which is why Ranma surprises me, he possess this power and he controls it, a new impossible feat. By refusing to feel he can control it but it comes with a price, something traumatic happened to him and so he locked up his emotions" Happosai replied.

"Just tell me what you know, we need to help him" Nabiki pushed.

"It is for him to tell you not me, it's a delicate subject, the best we can do is support him and make sure he knows that he can talk to us and that we're here for him" Happosai replied, Nabiki let out a tired sigh and simply left the duo to head upstairs once Genma re-entered the room, shoji board in hand, heading straight to the guestroom.

Soun rose from where he sat and headed to the phone.

"Soun where are you going?" Genma questioned, Soun fought the urge to verbally assault his friend, knowing that it was most likely down to him that Ranma was suicidal and had even attempted it, if not certain that it was his fault

"Oh, I just need to make a phone call Saotome, just set the game up, I'll just be a minute" Soun replied as he entered the hallway.

"Will do Tendo" Genma replied cheerfully, doing his best to ignore his Master.

Soun picked up the phone, flicking through the address book beside it before he found the number he was looking for and began to dial it, he heard the tone for a couple of minutes before a voice appeared on the other end.

"Hello" came a feminine voice.

"Hello, am I right in thinking that this is the Saotome residence?" Soun questioned.

"Yes" came the reply.

"Are you Mrs Saotome?" Soun questioned.

"No, she's out at the moment can I take a message?" she replied.

"Ok, just make sure you have a pen and paper this message is of great importance" Soun replied.

"Ok, just a second" she replied, Soun soon heard the sound of items falling over, pens rolling around and paper been retrieved, followed by a small curse as something shattered, in the background.

"Okay I've got them" she replied.

"Good, her son is at the Tendo Residence and he needs her, now" Soun stated, he heard a gasp on the other end.

"You've found Ranma" she gasped.

"Less found more like he and his father turned up here a couple days ago, now make sure Nodoka finds out that Ranma needs her ASAP" Soun said, his voice frantic, he heard scribbling in the background, the sound of pen meeting paper.

"Don't worry I'll tell her" she replied her tone serious.

"Thank you, goodbye and make sure she gets the message" Soun stated.

"Don't worry she will, goodbye and thank you for calling" she replied before the line went dead, Soun placed the phone on the hook before heading back to the shoji board.

Meanwhile…

Nabiki was in the guestroom, digging through Genma's pack, after having been through Ranma's and found a spare set of clothes, some training scrolls, big rocks and a few shards of glass, the weight alone was too much for Nabiki to lift.

 _'Why the hell would he put all that shit in Ranma's pack'_ Nabiki inwardly cursed as she continued to search through Genma's packs, she stiffened when she found a red, battered book, she lifted it out, she turned to open it only to find a locked latch upon it.

 _'Locked, now I know this has some critical info in it'_ Nabiki inwardly mused as she fished a pair of hair pins from her pocket _'I knew these would come in handy'_ she inwardly chuckled as she began to pick the lock, after a couple minutes the latch released.

 _'Yes'_ Nabiki inwardly cheered before opening the book and beginning to flick through it, eyes scanning every detail within it when a slip of paper fell out from between the pages, her gaze dropped on it, she closed the book and placed it on the floor and reached down to the piece of paper and flipped it over and began to read it, it was some sort of receipt.

 _'One redhead for 5000 yen'_ Nabiki read, frowning _'Is this talking about Ranma?'_ she mused, she looked back to the book where the slip had fallen from, she found it detailed the day's events that led to the receipt and felt her blood turn cold as all the blood drained from her face.

 _'That, that monster'_ Nabiki inwardly cursed before replacing the packs and leaving the guestroom, heading to her own, taking the book with her.

A/N Hope you all like the update, you can thank MilandaAnza for this update since it was MilandaAnza's suggestions that led to this update, plz review, things will start to pick up soon.


	8. Chapter 8

Furinkan High School…

As Hinako drew her class to a close and was about to dismiss her students and allow them to leave for lunch.

"Now before I dismiss you, Ranma I would like to see you after class, if you intend to buy your lunch go to the canteen and come back here, as for the rest of you, you may go" Hinako stated, her students rose from their chairs and filed out of the classroom.

Ranma rose from his chair and headed to the front of the classroom as the last of his class left the room, the door closed, Hinako, currently in her adult form having drained one of her students for not having done their homework, positioned one of the student chairs near her desk, the back facing the window before bringing her chair opposite it. She took her seat and turned to face her student.

"Ranma please take a seat" Hinako said, Ranma nodded and silently took his seat, Hinako's eyes shifted over her student, he sat so stiffly, it was unnerving.

"What is it you wanted to see me about?" Ranma asked.

"Someone came to see me before school and brought something very serious to my attention" Hinako replied, Ranma's gaze seemed to narrow.

"Oh?" Ranma questioned, raising a single eyebrow.

"Yes, now tell me Ranma what are things like at home?" Hinako asked.

' _I can't just come out and ask why he's suicidal, I have to tread cautiously'_ Hinako stated within her mind.

"I don't live at home" Ranma replied, his gaze sharpening.

"Then where do you live?" Hinako asked.

"I am currently staying with the Tendos" Ranma admitted.

"Okay and how are things there, are the Tendos treating you kindly?" Hinako asked.

"Yes they treat me well, though I would wish they would stop asking about my past, now which of them was it who told you to speak to me, was it Nabiki or Kasumi?" Ranma questioned, Hinako's eyes widened.

"What makes you think it was one of them who spoke to me?" Hinako questioned.

"Because, Akane would confront me head on, not use others, Soun wouldn't think of this, especially since he's more out of the loop than his daughters and this is one of the last things my father would do" Ranma explained.

' _He's certainly smarter than his peers; I'd go as far to say that his intellect could even challenge Nabiki's, but he isn't the only observant one here'_ Hinako mused as she inwardly smirked.

"Why would your father not resort to this?" Hinako asked, Ranma stiffened.

"It's not in his character" Ranma replied.

"Don't lie to me Ranma, I won't let you off with half-truths either, I can see your aura, what are you hiding?" Hinako questioned as she brought Ranma's aura into view, wishing she hadn't the minute she did.

"The only thing I hide is my past and if I wouldn't reveal it to the Tendos what makes you think I would reveal it to you?" Ranma questioned.

"She said that you and I are the same and you would be more likely to open up to me, you know of my Ki draining technique, you learned it and as such turn back into a child, am I right?" Hinako asked, Ranma gave her a small smirk.

"I'll admit to that, yes, if I exhaust my Ki or neglect to absorb it I would revert to been a child" Ranma replied.

"Ranma…I know what you're going through changing back into a kid all the time only to become an adolescent again and have your mind and body assaulted by all those hormones, I know how confusing it can be, just talk to me about it" Hinako probed, assuming this was what the problem was.

"You really don't know do you, you're almost as out as Soun" Ranma chuckled, Hinako's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?" Hinako asked.

"Whoever told you about me clearly only gave you a small piece of info to work with, now if you excuse me I would like to enjoy some piece before class" Ranma replied, slipping off his chair and making to get past the teacher only to have her grab his wrist.

"You're going nowhere, not until you tell me what I want to know, this is serious" Hinako said, anger infiltrating her tone, Ranma stiffened, memories flashing before his mind's eye, memories of every other time he had heard anger infiltrate someone's tone, when his father beat him, when he tried to escape rapists before been drugged, anger of those he was sold to when he didn't obey them.

His pulse began to rise, his body began to shake, Hinako's eyes widened when she felt her student physically shaking. Tears clouded in his eyes.

"Ranma…tell me what's wrong, please let me help you" Hinako pushed.

' _Can't let her in…let anyone in and they will hurt you'_ these thoughts echoed throughout Ranma's mind.

"Ranma" Hinako repeated, Ranma felt his grip on his Ki weaken and soon his body began to shrink until he was the size of a six year old once again.

"Let me go…please" Ranma rasped out, his voice hoarse, tears beginning to fall to the point he didn't care his pants and boxers had fallen and his only clothing was his shirt and wrist bands, though he was allowed his modesty.

Hinako's eyes widened.

' _His voice, it's completely changed, the confidence and strength he seemed to radiate is gone and in its place is a scared child'_ Hinako inwardly gasped.

' _This body…it's too weak if she uses it…it will destroy it and what if she…uses my other…I'll never be able to…'_ he couldn't even think the thought, his knees turned weak and he fell to the floor.

"Please…don't…I'll answer your questions" Ranma begged, his voice quiet.

"You really do know my technique" was all Hinako could utter, Ranma nodded his head a few times, his tiny wrists still encased in Hinako's grip.

"What happened to you Ranma?" she asked, her mind still processing what had happened to her student.

"Hell" was Ranma's reply, his voice but a whisper.

"What?" Hinako asked quietly, Ranma turned and looked up to face his teacher, making eye contact.

"Hell, I was put through hell" Ranma said, still unable to stop his body from shaking, he was completely at Hinako's mercy and he knew it, Hinako release her grip, Ranma took his wrist into his other hand, his gaze never leaving his teacher.

"Ranma, you don't have to be scared of me, just let me help you" Hinako said as she slipped off her chair and lowered herself onto her knees in front of Ranma so to seem less intimidating, knowing that whenever someone reverted to been a child they took on a childlike demeanour and she had first-hand experience with it only this time rather than Ranma been a hyperactive child he was a terrified and traumatized child.

' _What have you been through Ranma? To have this sort of reaction…then again he had described his life as hell and at the moment he's little boy whose endured seventeen years of 'hell''_ Hinako mused.

"You can't help me" Ranma replied.

"I can if you'll let me" Hinako replied softly.

"You can't help a lost cause" Ranma answered, lowering himself into a seat position, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"Ranma you aren't a lost cause" Hinako stressed.

"Yes I am" Ranma droned.

"No you're not, no one's a lost cause, least of all you" Hinako replied.

"And people say children are naïve…I have nothing to live for so tell me I'm not a lost cause, look me in the eye and say it" Ranma said, making eye contact with his teacher.

"You are not a lost cause, why would you ever think you have nothing to live for?" she replied, never breaking eye contact.

"Please don't make me answer that" Ranma choked, not wanting to think, not wanting to remember, Hinako let out a tired sigh.

' _As a teen he refuses to let me in and as a child he's too scared and refuses to face it'_ Hinako inwardly sighed when she struck with an idea.

"Ranma, how old are you?" Hinako asked softly, Ranma sniffed, trying to stop the tears.

"Twenty nine" he mumbled, Hinako stiffened.

' _He's nearly my age, so why's he going to high school?'_ Hinako mused.

"Ranma if you're twenty nine then why are you coming to high school?" Hinako asked.

"It was the Tendo's idea, since my exposure to education is limited at best they thought it would be better for me to attend school with Nabiki, I guess they thought she would help me catch up with everyone else…Genma only let me so I could get closer to Nabiki and Akane" Ranma explained.

"Why would your education be limited and what about all your school records?" Hianko asked.

"Forged, I've been on a training journey since I could remember…never staying in one place for long so it was rare I was in school" Ranma admitted, Hinako let out a tired sigh.

"I see" she glanced over her student once again, fear still radiating off of him.

' _He's still scared…maybe it would be easier if I spoke to him as his true age…but…at the moment the only way he would be able to become his true age is by draining my Ki and then I would…become a child again'_ Hinako sighed.

"Ranma I want you to drain my Ki, I need to talk to you as an adult" Hinako admitted.

"Why?" Ranma asked.

"Because as you are you're too emotionally vulnerable and as an adolescent you're too evasive" Hinako explained _'But as an adult you should be mature and maybe…you'll open up'_ she mentally added.

"Okay" Ranma sighed, holding up his hands in circle formation and beginning to absorb his teacher's Ki, as Hinako shrunk into been a child Ranma grew into been an adult for the first time in a long time he became his true age his father having preferred him remain younger so to as attract more attention and seem more vulnerable.

Once the exchange was done Hinako was now a little girl who appeared to around ten years old and Ranma was six foot, fully grown man, his arms and legs muscular, his arms may have been hidden but his legs weren't and clearly displayed the display of scars that decorated them, as well as the impressive size of his manhood.

"Eep" Hianko gasped when she saw Ranma without any lower clothing, Ranma simply turned his back on his teacher and presumed to get dressed, not even blushing in embarrassment, he turned back to face his teacher.

"I take it, it's easy to see why I hate reverting to been a child" Ranma said.

"I guess…but why did you say that you had no reason to live before?" Hinako asked.

"Hinako…I appreciate that you're only trying to help me, but…don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers too" Ranma replied.

"Ranma, I was told you were suicidal, now tell me why so I can help you" Hinako snapped falling victim to her childish tendencies, Ranma stiffened.

"I'm sorry Hina-chan but that is something I will take to the grave…and if all goes to plan I will go out of honour and soon" Ranma replied before turning away from his teacher who now supported a small blush at what Ranma called her, he headed to the window before leaping from it and leaving the school grounds.

' _I'm sorry Hinako but you can't save me, no one can'_ Ranma declared within his mind, a single tear falling down his cheek as he began to make his way home.

Meanwhile…

In the Saotome home a brunette in her mid-twenties, her age been twenty six not that she'd ever tell anyone straight up, no she enjoyed to make people squirm when she made them guess. She wore a traditional sapphire kimono with an apron tied onto it as she prepared a meal for herself and the head of the household for when she returned, constantly casting glances at the clock.

' _Any minute now'_ she inwardly squealed, desperate to tell Nodoka what she had found out.

A/N Hope you all liked the update, plz review and as always all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


	9. Chapter 9

Saotome Residence…

The sound of the door opening and closing was carried through to the kitchen where the young brunette had been stood as she finished putting the last of their meals onto a plate, she picked them up, balancing them on her wrists and beginning to make her way to the dining table.

"Ukyo where are you?" called out the head of the household.

"In the dining room" Ukyo called back, soon the door opened to reveal a tall aged woman, auburn hair with a couple grey lines tied into a bun, her complexion still smooth and soft spared the cruelty of time, for now, she wore a traditional kimono as she always did. Nodoka grew a warm smile as she watched her adoptive daughter set the table.

The table itself was of western design with eight chairs, three on either side long ways and one on the other sides, Ukyo never understood why Nodoka had such a large table or why she lived in such a large house, no one ever visited her and she lived alone before she came but she never asked, Nodoka was a lonely woman and she didn't want to remind her of just how lonely she was.

"I see someone's had a busy day, I thought I told you repeatedly to relax on your days off" Nodoka chided.

"If I did that we'd be living off takeout every day I'm not at the restaurant" Ukyo remarked, a teasing grin upon her face as the duo took a seat at the dining table, Nodoka at the head and Ukyo to her right.

"But still you work five days a week, cooking and running that place, surely you could take a breather you do have employees" Nodoka stressed.

"I can't ask people to do what I'm not willing to do myself, besides this way I can connect with my employees and not be a simple overbearing emotionless boss" Ukyo replied, Nodoka sighed.

"Ukyo I just wish you wouldn't work so hard, even on your days off you insist on cooking , you should be relaxing if not socialising on your days off, you won't be young forever" Nodoka replied.

"Say's the older working woman with a dirtier mind than a horny teenager" Ukyo teased, Nodoka flashed her a small smirk in response.

"So anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Nodoka asked.

"Actually yes, someone rang earlier day, they wanted to speak with you" Ukyo replied.

"Oh? What about?" Nodoka asked as she inserted a spoonful of rice into her mouth.

"Ranma" Ukyo replied, Nodoka froze, her gaze rising and making eye contact with her daughter.

"Ranma?" Nodoka asked, her tone filling with emotion and hope.

"He's at the Tendo dojo and he needs you" Ukyo replied "So I thought that once we've finished dinner we could head over there and see if we can't find that bastard of a husband of yours" she remarked, glancing down at her meal to take in a single mouthful before returning her gaze to Nodoka and gawking when she saw her meal was already gone and she was lightly tapping her pursed lips with a napkin.

"Then eat fast" Nodoka said before pushing her chair back and raising from her chair and sprinting off to find the Saotome honour blade, she had one hell of a bone to pick with Genma after vanishing for twenty six years with their only child. Ukyo began to wolf her food down, knowing Nodoka was deadly serious and would drag her out of their home before she finished her meal.

No sooner had the last morsel of her meal travelled down her throat was she dragged from the table and out of the house in a blur of motion, dragged by her pigtail by her adoptive mother, despite her protests and the odd stares they received as Nodoka sprinted down the street, sword in one hand and in the other Ukyo's ponytail, dragging her along the concrete.

Meanwhile…

Ranma rounded the final corner and entered the Tendo estate, still in adult form, having been in no hurry to return to the Tendo household and had taken his time, enjoying the warm air, cherishing the few good memories he had, knowing that this day would be his last if Soun had done what he'd asked.

' _Not much longer'_ Ranma thought to himself as he entered the Tendo household, he headed straight for the dining room where he found Soun and his father playing shoji, Soun glanced up at him, his father ignore him.

"Ranma, shouldn't you be at school?" Soun questioned.

"Some things happened and I ended up absorbing too much Ki and I ended up been taking on my adult form and I thought it would raise too many questions so I simply took the rest of the day off" Ranma explained.

"Oh I see" Soun admitted.

"Did you make that call?" Ranma asked.

"Yes and she should be here sometime today" Soun replied doubting Nodoka would wait more than needed to see her son after so long, while Soun answered Ranma Genma tuned him out and used the opportunity to cheat.

"Thank you" Ranma replied before heading to the kitchen to poo a glass of water and simply presumed to wait for his mother to arrive so he could show her his curse and end his life, in the only form that had brought him any joy.

That Night…

Ranma sat on the porch, the glass of water sat beside him, his gaze locked on the gate, waiting for the inevitable to occur, not even glancing in Nabiki's direction when she came down the stairs, having spent the last few hours debating on how to explain to Ranma that she knew what happened to his daughter and where she was, after doing a little digging and calling in a few favours and all without leaving her room.

Nabiki took a step towards Ranma only to stop when she saw two women enter through their gate, well one enter while dragging the second one.

"Alright, alright already would you let go of me" Ukyo cried out as she crossed her arms beneath her chest, emphasising its size unconsciously as she began to pout, Nodoka released her grip and Ukyo's head landed on the ground with a thud, Nodoka continued towards the open side door where she could see a young man sat.

Ukyo sat upright, rubbing the back of her head as she began to rise to her feet and chase after the older woman, brushing her kimono down in the process. Nodoka came to a stop a few paces from Ranma, eyes locked on his, it took only a second for her to realise that this was, without a doubt her son.

"Ranma" Nodoka greeted.

"Hi, mom" Ranma greeted, noticing that no sooner had he said those words that his panda of a father hid under the table shaking like a leaf.

' _Judging by his reaction then mom really will enforce the contract, perfect'_ Ranma mused, Nodoka pounced on him, bringing her arms around his neck, he began to fall backwards, slamming down his palms behind him so to stop him from falling. Tears began to slide down Nodoka's cheeks.

"Oh Ranma…how I've dreamed of this moment" Nodoka wept, before pulling away and frowning when she noticed her son hadn't returned her embrace, she saw tears brimming behind his eyes.

"I know about the contract" Ranma stated, his voice empty and void of any feeling, his eyes glazing over. Nodoka stiffened as did Genma, Nabiki stumbled back at hearing this.

' _How could he know? Kasumi has the contract and neither of us have spoken of it near him…how could he know?'_ Nabiki inwardly screamed.

"Ranma,,," Nodoka began only to be interrupted by her son.

"Genma failed" Ranma said, his tone still void, he took the glass and poured it over his head, his gaze never moving from his mother as his body changed into that of a young woman, Nodoka took a step back in surprise.

"What?" Nodoka gasped.

"Genma took me to a cursed training ground and I now I turn into a girl whenever I touch cold water, Genma has failed to make me a man among men, I am ready to redeem my honour by obeying the contract" Ranma stated.

"NO YOU CAN'T" Nabiki screamed as she ran towards them, stopping between the two, arms spread so as to protect Ranma "EVEN WITH HIS CURSE RANMA IS HAS FULFILLED THE CONTRACT, AFTER WHAT THAT BASTARD OF A FATHER TOOK FROM HIM RANMA HAS REMAINED STRONG AND EVEN PROTECTED MY SISTER FROM AN ARMY OF HORNY BOYS ATTEMPTING TO FORCE THEMSELVES UPON HER" she continued, Ranma's eyes widened.

"Stay out of this Tendo, I am honour bound to commit seppuku and I intend to go through with it" Ranma replied.

"Ranma I have no intention of forcing you to go through with that bloody contract, your father, however, that is another story" Nodoka interjected, Ranma stiffened.

"No, I am honour bound since I am not a man among men I must commit seppuku" Ranma spat.

"No you're not and besides this curse doesn't make you any less of a man, it's what's inside that counts" Nodoka argued.

"She's right Ranma" Ukyo said as she stepped up beside her mother.

"Regardless of that, even if this body isn't enough then this is, I am broken mother, the man who caused you to create me broke me, I was shattered sixteen years ago, I cut my wrists, I have attempted suicide I have brought dishonour upon the clan by been unable to remain pure and even considering suicide, allow me to revive the honour of our clan by giving my life" Ranma snapped, Nodoka stumbled back.

' _Genma…what have you done…when I find you I will kill you'_ Nodoka screamed within her mind, tears streaming down her cheeks with more speed and in more abundance than Soun had ever managed before.

"NO! Ranma I won't lose you, I have only just gotten you back and I won't force you to end your life for the honour of an honourless clan, after your father caused you so much pain" Nodoka enforced, tears began to stream down his cheeks.

"No matter what you say this is my final day on Earth, I have nothing to live for and if you won't all me to commit suicide through honour then I will do so without you permission" Ranma spat, charging at her mother in a blurring motion, before she could even blink the Saotome honour blade was gone from her grasp and was unsheathed. Nodoka span on her heel to face her son turned daughter only to see Ranma position the blade over his head preparing to bring it down in a swing motion and allow it to pierce his chest.

"NO!" Nodoka screamed as she began to run to her son only to trip over her own kimono and fall to the ground, Ranma began to bring down the blade.

"And thus my suffering will end, my true suffering" Ranma declared.

"Ranma no!" Nabiki screamed, Ukyo appeared behind the elder woman and looped her arms through Ranma's, preventing from her from bringing her arms down.

"LET GO" Ranma snarled.

"No chance Ranchan, I've been waiting to see you again for too long to let you end your life like this" Ukyo snapped.

"Ukyo? Listen, please, just let me do this, I have lost too much, please just let me die" Ranma begged, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Ranma you do have a reason to live!" Nabiki interjected.

"No, I don't" Ranma spat.

"Yes you do, I know where your daughter is" Nabiki interjected, Ranma ceased her struggling at once, eyes widening.

"Daughter?" Ukyo, Nodoka and a now no longer stunned Soun gasped in perfect unison, Ranma fell from Ukyo's grip, landing on all fours, her head bowed and tears dripping from her eyes.

"This better not be a trick Tendo" Ranma gasped out.

"It isn't, I know where she is, you can find her, you have a reason to live" Nabiki replied.

A/N Hope you all liked the update, plz review and as always any suggestions you have will be greatly appreciated.


	10. Chapter 10

"This better not be a trick Tendo" Ranma gasped out.

"It isn't, I know where she is, you can find her, you have a reason to live" Nabiki replied.

"If what you say is true and I am able to find her then yes I do…but if this is a trick…not only will I end my suffering but I'll take Nerima with me" Ranma spat, rising back to her feet, standing tall and strong, eyes of steel, aimed at the middle Tendo, Nabiki stumbled back, recalling what Happosai had said.

' _This isn't an empty threat…she's serious'_ Nabiki mentally reminded herself.

"Don't worry this isn't a trick" Nabiki replied.

"Ranma…what does she mean daughter?" Nodoka asked.

"A lot happened on the trip mom and she was one of them" Ranma answered before turning to Nabiki, approaching her, she gripped Nabiki's wrist, hard.

"Now you're going to tell me everything you know about my past Tendo and then where my daughter is" Ranma hissed before proceeding to drag Nabiki back into the house and into the middle Tendo's room.

Once inside she kicked the door shut and threw Nabiki over her head and onto the bed, she nearly bounced back off from the impact but managed to remain on the bed. Nabiki slowly sat back upright, her entire body shaking in fear, her gaze moving to the secondary occupant of the room.

"Now spill what do you know?" Ranma spat.

"That…you're father…sold your…daughter to some guy…he had a receipt" Nabiki stammered.

' _So she only knows of her…at least it will keep her from invading my past'_ Ranma inwardly sighed.

"And how would a mere receipt tell you where my daughter is?" Ranma asked, a thin scarlet aura now surrounding her body.

"I recognise the name…one of my clients has…a connection with some of…his goons…" Nabiki stammered.

"And you're sure it's the same guy?" she questioned.

"Certain…the guy you're looking for...a great deal of his money…comes from whoring out young women" Nabiki stammered, the thin line erupted into an inferno.

"If he's touched one hair on her head I'll kill him, where can I find him and why the hell isn't he behind bars" Ranma snarled.

"He knows some powerful people Ranma…he's almost the equivalent of an underground crime boss, most of the gangs in Tokyo and Osaka work for him…he has a talent for evading authorities, most police forces don't even know he exists…I don't know where you can find him…but my client lives in Osaka, its four hours by train from here and he can tell you where to find the goons and they can tell you where to find the boss" Nabiki explained, the inferno simmered but wasn't extinguished.

"You better be telling the truth Tendo" Ranma warned before taking her leave _'I swear if he's done anything to her…I'll destroy him'_ she mentally swore as she grit her teeth.

"Ranma what's going on?" Nodoka asked when she saw her son turned daughter exit the Tendo household.

"I'm going to Osaka to find my daughter" Ranma stated calmly, though her still visible aura showed she was anything but calm.

"Then I'm going with you" Nodoka interjected.

"Not without me you're not" Ukyo added, brushing off the dirt her clothing had accumulated when Nodoka dragged her all the way to the Tendo household.

"No, I'm going alone" Ranma retorted.

"No way, we're going with you whether you like it or not" Ukyo responded.

"She's right son, there's no way I'm letting you leave now, especially since I've finally found you since that bastard of a husband of mine took you away from me twenty six years ago" Nodoka snapped, the hostility growing in her voice when it came to speaking of her husband.

"I haven't seen my daughter in nearly sixteen years mother, she doesn't even know me so sorry but no you are not coming with me" Ranma snapped, Nodoka and Ukyo stiffened at hearing this and Ranma turned her back on the duo and made her way out of the Tendo estate and towards the nearest train station.

Train Station…

Ranma activated the umisenken (1) and headed towards a large map, her harsh gaze scanning the map for a train heading to Osaka. She soon found what she was looking for and began to make her journey towards the correct terminal, slowly shifting out of the way of oncoming people.

' _A little mundane thing such as money isn't going to stop me from finding you'_ Ranma inwardly swore as she walked past the ticket machines, leaping over the barriers between her and the terminal. She kept the umisenken active until the train pulled into the terminal, she bordered and made herself visible, concealed by the crowed of people join with her.

She secured a seat. Her aura once again only a thin line surrounding her body, but still visible and as such people avoided her as much as they could, a few did manage to summon up enough courage to sit next to her, though determined as to not touch her, a man to her left on accident brushed his leg against hers and was rewarded by having his leg burned, he clutched the limb in pain but dared not announce it due to fear of the redhead.

The train came to a stop and more passengers boarded. Ranma's gaze remained focused and dangerous, until a young woman stood before her, holding onto the railing, her stomach extending past its natural position. Ranma's gaze moved up, the woman in question was no woman at all but rather a girl, around sixteen to seventeen, her gaze locked on the floor, not daring to look at anyone out of shame for she was an under aged, unmarried pregnant teenager, not something fondly looked on in Japanese society.

She had long dark hair, fairly tall, her breasts were around a D cup but her lower curves were a little underdeveloped, she wore a school uniform that appeared to be mostly ruffled. She was sweating a little and it was more than obvious she was exhausted.

Ranma let out a tired sigh. She rose from her chair and took hold of the railing, standing in front of the newcomer. Ranma could tell the younger girl was fighting to not look towards the woman who had just stepped in front of her.

"Have my seat" Ranma said, not letting any of her anger enter her tone, the girl stiffened and slowly, timidly raised her head to look at her. Ranma offered her a small smile before nodding her head towards the now vacant seat.

"Err…thank you" she replied shyly, she cheeks tinging red, she steadily made her way to the seat. Once she was seated she looked back up at Ranma, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red when she saw the older woman looking at her hands.

' _She's looking for a_ _ring'_ she inwardly sighed, prepared to receive a disapproving look from the woman. Ranma noticed her stiffen and knew what she was thinking, her expression softened.

"You don't have to worry about me judging you love, you're not the only one who got pregnant at a young age" Ranma said, her voice soft, the girl looked up, her expression one of shock, her gaze shifting on the other residents of their cart, expecting disapproving looks aimed at her and the redhead only to see everyone doing their best to not look at them if anything.

"You mean…you…" she stammered, Ranma merely nodded in response.

"In face I'm going to visit my daughter right now" Ranma said, noticing how the girls gaze moved towards her hands.

"No ring" she muttered her voice barley a whisper but Ranma caught it.

"Nope, not yet anyway" Ranma answered, her gaze moving round, daring anyone to comment on it, all those her gaze passed merely began to shake in fear, silence soon filled the air.

"So…what's she like?" she asked, Ranma raised an eyebrow and lightly hummed at the question "Your daughter" she explained, her expression became one of confusion when Ranma's expression fell.

"I don't know" Ranma replied, her voice dropping below a whisper.

"Huh?" she asked in confusion.

"Don't ask…so what's your name?" Ranma asked.

"Rei, what's yours?" Rei asked, deciding she didn't want to give her family name to a near stranger.

"Ranma" she replied, the train stopped again and some people exited the cart, Ranma took a seat beside the girl and the two spent the rest of the journey making small talk.

A/N Sorry I took so long and it's so short, near amateur short, plz review and as always any suggestions you have will be greatly appreciated.

(1) Sorry about spelling.


	11. Chapter 11

The train came to a stop and Ranma rose to her feet, Rei mimicking the action and two exited the train, quickly stepping away from the doors as people began to board the train, Rei stuck close to Ranma until they reached the opposing side of the station, the staircase that led out of the station now in sight.

"Anyone picking you up?" Ranma asked as she leaned against the wall, her gaze lingering on Rei as she awaited her response unable to help but feel the need to protect the raven haired girl.

"My boyfriend should be here soon." Rei admitted, her gaze moving over the crowed of people, searching for any sign of her lover.

"Want me to wait with you until he gets here?" Ranma offered, knowing well how cruel people could be when it concerned a vulnerable young girl, Rei found herself nodding in response, a light tinge to her cheeks from the embarrassment of asking someone she barely knew and had only met a few hours ago to wait with her.

As they waited for the arrival of Rei's lover Rei found herself gravitating to the older woman while others went out of their way in order to avoid her, she frowned at this as by no means was Ranma unattractive and yet no one wanted to be remotely near her.

"Why is everyone avoiding you?" Rei asked as she glanced up at the redhead.

"Survival instinct…let's just say I'm not someone you want to cross." Ranma explained, Rei frowned at this but could tell it was the best answer she'd get, her gaze returned to the crowd in search of her boyfriend when she caught sight of a yellow headband, her heart skipped a beat as her cheeks filled with colour once again as her boyfriend gradually came into view.

He was tall, around Ranma's height if not a little, to say his build was muscular was an understatement, his hair lightly spiked with a yellow bandanna upon his forehead, he was attired in a yellow jumper and black baggy Kung Fu pants.

His gaze landed on Rei and he flashed her a small fanged smirk as he approached her with a slight increase to his speed, he soon emerged from the crowed and entered the circle that had formed around the two from people avoiding them, he stopped a few feet away, his eyes closing as he sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry I'm late." He greeted.

"Don't worry Ryo-kun, Ranma kept me company." Rei greeted, the 'boy' stiffened when he heard that name, his gaze moved to the older woman, she looked quite familiar, her own gaze was on him, eyes slightly wider than they should be.

"Ryoga?" Ranma greeted, her tone a questioning one.

"Uhuh." Ryoga affirmed as he placed the redhead in his memory, he'd recognise that small smirk and pigtail anywhere.

"Wow…I haven't seen you in…what fourteen years?" Ranma gasped out, a small smile adorning her lips.

"Something like that." Ryoga admitted as he returned her smile, Rei glanced between the two of them.

"You know each other?" Rei asked, her eyes widening slightly.

"You could say that, Ranma's the one who got me interested in the art…when I was six some older boys were bullying me, then he came up to us and beat the shit out of them, never bullied me again…but still…what happened to you, last I saw you, you were a boy?" Ryoga questioned, eyes widening.

"When I went to China I picked up a little curse, nothing big really, change genders whenever I touch a liquid of a certain temperature." Ranma explained as if it was the most normal thing in the word, Ryoga's eyes widened further.

"Jusenkyo?" Ryoga questioned, Ranma's gaze narrowed.

"What do you know of Jusenkyo?" she questioned.

"A couple years ago I went China with my parents on holiday, we stayed in a small cabin in the mountains, spent most days hiking and spending time together as a family until I heard about a legendary training ground and decided to check it out." Ryoga explained.

"Which spring did you fall into?" Ranma asked with a tired sigh, she'd barley known Ryoga for more than a couple months while Genma was up to his usual antics but he'd still made quite the impression on her. Ryoga laughed and sheepishly scratched the back of head again.

"The spring of drowned wolf cub." Ryoga laughed.

"Yeah, he turns into this cute little black puppy, we have this little red squeaky…" Rei began only to have Ryoga clamped his hand over her mouth, his cheeks burning with a bright blush.

"The guide said overtime my cursed form will grow." Ryoga stated, Rei removed her boyfriend's hand, sending him a mocking glare before turning back to Ranma.

"So you're…really a boy?" Rei asked.

"Yeah." Ranma sighed.

"But you said you were visiting your daughter…that you were young when…?" Rei drifted off, Ryoga turned back to Ranma.

"Daughter? Aren't you still a little young to have kids?" Ryoga asked.

"Says you." Ranma countered, a blush soon covered Ryoga's face, Ranma turned back to face Rei "Less visiting more looking for her and before you ask I'm the mother and was very young when I was impregnated." She explained.

"What do you mean 'looking for her'." Ryoga questioned.

"It's a long story." Ranma answered, her eyes seeming to darken.

"You want some help?" Ryoga asked, repressing a shiver at seeing Ranma's gaze, he knew she wasn't one to cross all those years ago but now she was deadly, the twenty five year old brought Ranma's aura into view and was quickly overwhelmed by it, nearly falling over at the sight of it and at the feel of the raw power.

Ranma seemed to contemplate Ryoga's offer for a minute, while normally she would turn him down without a second thought like she would anyone else, but this was no ordinary matter, this was her daughter and from what she could see Ryoga was a martial artist of a high calibre though not to her level was nothing to sneeze at.

"If you're up to it I wouldn't mind a little back up, but you should know that where I'm going, if you decide to come you will see just why I should never be crossed." Ranma hissed.

"No matter what Ranma I'm in, you should know that, after all didn't I promise that when I got stronger I would help and protect you." Ryoga chuckled, Ranma couldn't help but smirk at the comment, recalling how Ryoga had followed him home, well to their camp, after he save him and saw how he was treated by Genma, he'd promise to get stronger and save him and thus started spending every moment he had around him, it was also when Ranma learned to never underestimate how sneaky a child can be, her smirk became a smile as she recalled how innocent she'd been back then, before the technique, before the curse, before the rape and before she had to start burying her children.

"What about Rei?" Ranma asked as she turned to face the younger girl.

"She has some basic training in the art but I doubt she'd be safe with what you'd have in mind, my apartment isn't too far from here, she can stay there while I help ya out." Ryoga proposed.

"I guess that'll work." Ranma sighed before the trio made their way out of the station, once outside Ranma stepped closer to Ryoga.

"I hope you're planning to pop the question before the little one arrives." Ranma whispered, Ryoga flashed her a small smirk, his hand slipping out of his pocket by an inch to reveal the top of a small black box.

"Just waiting for a romantic moment." He answered a silly grin on his face, Ranma grew a small smile, she glanced between the couple.

' _Who knows maybe one day I'll know the love they feel for each other.'_ Ranma sighed _'No, this isn't the time for such delusions, I have to find my daughter, in five days she'll turn sixteen and I'd rather have her by my side with the knowledge that she is safe than in the hands of some sort of mafia…even if she hates my guts for what Genma did'_ she mentally swore, the cool night air aiding in calming her, preventing her rage from getting the better of her.

A/N Sorry I took so long but I was going through something personal that made me rather reluctant to update any of my angst and hurt/comfort fics, rather short so sorry again but at least it's an update. Hope you all liked the update, a bit lighter than the rest of the fic, plz review.

A/N I noticed many of you thought Rei was the Rei from Sailor Moon, this is not the case, it was pure coincidence they turned out so similar, I didn't even realize I'd done it until it was pointed out, I considered making it a crossover but I feel including Sailor Moon themes would ruin this fic, especially with my lack of knowledge of the anime/manga itself.

A/N There is a poll on my profile concerning the updates of fics, mainly which I should focus on when it comes to my rewrites, don't know when the poll will end yet.


	12. Chapter 12

The small group came to stop on the third floor of an apartment building, outside a locked door, Ryoga stepped to the front of the group, taking a key out of his pocket, he unlocked the door with the familiar clicking sound of the lock he pushed the door open, stepping in to keep the door open so Rei and Ranma could enter.

Ranma's gaze quickly analysed the apartment, it was small, the living room and kitchen were conjoined, only separated with the difference in design, he noticed three doors along the walls the living room was quite full, or as it seemed with the small amount of space, there was an old style TV, quite large and bulky, a single green sofa, possessing numerous tears took up half the room, a small coffee table settled between the sofa and the TV, the flooring was covered by a grey carpet, though from the look of it, it had probably started out as being cream but the colour hadn't survived. Clothes were draped across the sofa and the coffee table.

Ranma turned to the kitchen, three breakfast bars surrounded each side apart from the one facing the sofa, a dining table took up that side but allowed enough space for people to squeeze past with three chairs, dishes were scattered about the breakfast bars, waiting to be cleaned.

"Sorry about the mess." Ryoga said sheepishly as he stepped into the living room.

"Yeah, you see with me spending the day at the school and Ryoga working we rarely get chance to clean the place." Rei admitted as she walked past Ranma, leaning back against the breakfast bar.

"Don't worry about it." Ranma muttered as continued her analyse of the apartment, Ryoga chuckled nervously.

"Well let me give you the tour." He said before turning and beginning to indicate to different areas of the apartment "This is the living room, this is the kitchen/dining room, that door leads to the bedroom, that one to the toilet and finally the boiler cupboard." He finalised.

Silence quickly began to fill the air; Ryoga nervously chewed his lower lip.

"So…when do we leave?" Ryoga asked, Ranma's gaze shot to her old friend , no longer taking in the sight of their living space.

"As soon as you're ready." She replied, her eyes seeming to darken for just a second, Ryoga involuntarily shivered, averting his gaze. He turned to Rei.

"Don't wait up Rei-chan, I'll be back as soon as I can but something tells me…that this will take a while." He said as he approached the pregnant girl.

"Just make sure you come back in one piece." Rei replied before pulling the taller boy into a strong hug, lifting onto her tiptoes to kiss him, Ryoga eagerly returned the kiss. Ranma turned away from the display of love and passion, heading to the door, opening it once again, she stepped out and approached the opposing wall, her hands resting on the banister as she waited for Ryoga to join her.

An old saying echoed throughout her mind _'nothing is more dangerous than a man who has nothing to lose'_ a smirk appeared on her face as her eyes darkened considerably _'Now I know that saying is wrong…there is one thing more dangerous than someone who has nothing to lose and that's a mother when they're looking for their children.'_ She thought with conviction, her hand's curling into fists as her grip on the bar tightened, the sound of the bending metal went unnoticed by her, the sound of footsteps soon drew her attention, Ryoga stepped up beside her.

"So where are we going to go to find your daughter?" Ryoga asked.

"A client of an acquaintance of mine, they'll tell me where to find some thugs and then we beat the out the location of their boss out of them and then we find him and take her back." Ranma stated, Ryoga fell silent for a moment.

"And where's this client?" He asked, sounding rather nervous, he hadn't liked Ranma's tone when she spoke about finding the boss, Ranma's hand dipped into her pocket, Ryoga raised his eyebrows when he saw the impression of the elder girl's hand in the bar, her hand returned with a piece of paper, he handed it to Ryoga, he unfolded it and read it.

"Oh I know this place." He said rather quickly, Ranma turned to fully face Ryoga "The woman who lives there used to give a little extra cash to keep some…well unfriendly people away…but she got someone else to deal with them, they haven't bothered her since." He explained.

"Uhuh…so can you take me there?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's not too far." He replied before heading back the way they'd came when taking Rei back to Ryoga's apartment, or rather the apartment they shared, Ranma turned, releasing the bar before following after Ryoga.

…

Sykes sat behind the desk in his office, leaning back in his chair, two large men standing on either side of him, each one wearing a black suit, on the opposing side if the desk stood an old friend of his, the man wore a foreign shirt and brown shorts, a small tree atop his head, Sykes shook his head.

' _How the hell has this guy not being carried off to the madhouse yet is beyond me.'_ He mentally chuckled.

"So I hear that in a couple days you plan to put da Little Red on the market." He stated with his ever present smirk.

"You hear right, she'll be of legal age and with her body with that virgin cunt, she'll bring in quite the price." Sykes chuckled "Why, you want to be the first to take crack at her?" he asked.

"In way yes, though I was hoping rather to get in early." He chuckled, Sykes sat up straight when he heard this.

"Early? How early?" He questioned.

"I was thinking tonight, if you hesitate in regard to payment, I assure you I can afford it." He replied.

"Why?" Sykes questioned, in truth he didn't care but he did want to have as much information as he could to ensure he could gain as much as possible.

"We all have our kinks." He chuckled, a dark gleam in his eyes that rivalled his own. "I'll give you a million yen, if you allow me to have her tonight and claim her virginity." He continued; Sykes smirked at the offer.

"Three million and I'll allow you to spend a full hour with her." Sykes responded.

"Deal." His hand shot out and took Sykes' and shook it before taking out a wad of notes from his pocket and handed them to Sykes.

"A pleasure doing business with you." Sykes said as he set about counting the cash

"And you." And with that the man turned and headed to exit the office.

"I trust you know where to find her." Sykes chuckled as the man left.

…

Once the door closed the Kuno patriarch smirked to himself as he headed to the door that led to the room where Little Red slept, he knew that his was her ten minute break from cleaning and providing the 'guests' with refreshments.

He spared a glance to the rest of the club that hid the truth of the prostitution before turning back to door and making to open it.

…

The young redhead sat atop her mattress, leaning against the wall, slowly sipping at her bottles water, savouring every second of her break while wishing time would slow down, she knew what would happen in five days, a man would pay her boss and come into her room, the only safe haven she had from the horrid truth that existed beyond her walls, he would force her onto the mattress and take her.

Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she tried to banish the thoughts from her mind. Brushing the scarlet bangs from her face.

Her scarlet hair hung free, not stopping until he caressed her rear, she was quite short for her age, her breasts were unfortunately quite large and in her future line of work that wasn't something she need, big breasts. A scar went through her right eye brow, vanishing just before it entered her eye before retuning just below it, her eyes were quite strange, her right eye was a deep blue but her other was brown. Her attire consisted of a short and tight red dress that stopped just after it passed her rear and revealed the majority of her oversized cleavage, she just stared down at the dress as she continued to sip at her water, she hated the colour, her boss had chosen it for her just so it would suit the name he had given her 'Red' , a stage name really, he didn't deem her deserving of an actual name.

The door opened, her head shot round, unsure as to why anyone would open her door, she still had five minutes before she had to get back to work and no one ever came to her room before, not even the other girls, or her boss, no one came in but her and she was still 'off market' until her 'sweet sixteen' came around.

The door pushed fully open to reveal a large and muscular man attired in shorts, t-shirt and…a pineapple tree? The man smirked at her, lust glowing in his eyes. Her eyes widened in fear as she slid back, away from the man, dropping her water, luckily it didn't land on the mattress. Red continued to slide back and away from the man.

He closed her door and began to move towards her, Red slid further back until she found herself pressed against the end wall.

"What are you…doing here?" Red stammered as the man got closer.

"Nothing, I'm just going to have some fun with you, get ma money's worth and all." He replied before stepping onto the mattress and falling onto his knees, beginning to crawl towards her.

"No, no you can't…I still have five days." She stammered, Kuno chuckled, he gripped her arms and lifted her over his head before slamming her onto the mattress pinning her down.

She screamed, Kuno's smirk only grew, he released his old on one of her arms before tearing her dress open, watching as her breasts bounced freely, free of the restrains, his smirk grew, he leaned into her ear.

"Scream all you like kiekie, it only makes this so much more enjoyable for me." He laughed before forcefully kissing her lips and stealing her first kiss as he gripped her crotch with his free hand and inserting his fingers into her.

She screamed, squirming beneath him, she hit his chest with her one free hand, he only chuckled, he released her other hand and slapped her across her face, she froze, her hand came up and caressed the red imprint of his hand on her face.

"Scream all you like but if you continue to physically resist me…well…I can very easily make this experience so much more insufferable for you and at no cost to my own pleasure." He laughed.

…

Ryoga and Ranma came to a stop outside a small house, Ryoga took a step towards the door and knocked, the sound of footsteps met them, the door opened to reveal an older woman, probably around her mid-thirties. Her hair was blonde and barley surpassed her shoulders, she wore a pink shirt and light blue jeans, seeming to work enough to conceal the majority of her figure while lightly emphasising her curves.

"Ryoga-kun?" She greeted in a confused tone.

"Hey Mika, it's being a while." Ryoga replied, Mika glanced over his shoulder and at Ranma.

"And she's?" She asked.

"An old friend who has some questions for you involving those guys who used to harass you." Ryoga explained.

"Why?" Mika questioned, her gaze hardening.

"Nabiki informed me you knew where I could find them." Ranma stated as she took a step towards the door and the woman, Mika's expression hardened further.

"So much for confidentiality." She muttered "I'm sorry but I can't help you, I don't have any desire to regain their attention." She stated.

Ranma shot forward, her hand slamming against the still partially closed door, slamming it open, the minute it met the wall Ranma's hand went through it, splinters of wood flying everywhere.

"Listen, I have very little patient and I'm done being civil, either tell me where I can find them now or I'll beat the answer out of you…and trust me you'll be lucky to survive that." Ranma spat as she stepped over the threshold, Mika stumbled back, Ranma's hand shot out, encasing the older woman's neck, lifting her off the ground before slamming her against the wall, cracks spread out from around where her body met the wall. She gasped out in pain, her eyes glued to the redhead, filled with fear.

Ryoga could only watch, he now knew for certain his friend had changed, sure when she…he was a child he was tuff and not someone to cross but now…she's wasn't just tuff and not someone to cross, she was dangerous, pure and simple and she didn't seem to be effected about the idea of killing someone if it meant getting her daughter back.

"Tell me where they are!" Ranma spat, increasing her grip, Mika gasped again, as it became harder to breathe.

"I…don't know where their…base is but…" She stammered, Ranma slackened her grip "They normally hang out at the local gym…they'll be there tomorrow night, if you get their fast enough you'll catch them…before they move out to have fun on the town." She continued.

Ranma released her grip. Mika fell to the floor, landing on her behind, her eyes never leaving Ranma even as she groaned in pain. The redhead turned her back on Mika and approached Ryoga.

"I know where it is." He stated.

"Good, could I stay with you and Rei tonight?" Ranma asked, Ryoga nodded before beginning to lead the way back, once far enough from the woman Ranma finally allowed herself to rest by reverting back into her child form, Ryoga's eyes widened.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" He screamed.

"Side effect to a technique, if I run too low on Ki I get young…I couldn't hold my age much longer." Ranma explained, this wasn't enough for Ryoga and he spent the rest of the journey back asking Ranma questions on it.

A/N Sorry it took so long, don't count many fast updates with this fic, I'm trying to focus on my 'Hogwarts Hybrids' fic. Don't when the next update will be, please review and as always I am open to suggestions and any given will be greatly appreciated and also this fic can now be found on my archiveofourown account.


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